After President Donald Trump demanded that Ukraine stop striking Russian oil refineries, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy defended the attacks in an exclusive interview with ABC News, saying his country is responding to repeated Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
“I said it to President Trump … to his team and to his people several times: we want peace, we are ready for [a] ceasefire, we are ready to begin from any kind of steps of de-escalation,” Zelenskyy told “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl. “And if the Russians want us not [to] attack their diesel, their refineries and etc., we are asking President Trump, give them signal not attack energy infrastructure of Ukraine.”
He went on, “Don’t attack us. Don’t kill our children. We will stop attack[ing] your diesel. And I think it’s [a] fair, fair deal.”
After Zelenskyy’s interview on ABC News aired, Trump said on social media that Ukraine and Russia had both agreed to an energy ceasefire.
“Effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine. Both parties have agreed. Do not break it!” his post said.
On Saturday, Trump lashed out at Zelenskyy to reporters, claiming the Ukrainian president “chooses not to” end the war with Russia, which began when Russia invaded the sovereign country in February of 2022.
Amid a global energy crisis, Trump took issue with Ukraine’s repeated strikes on Russian oil refineries, asserting that those strikes are exacerbating the price of diesel.
“We said you could do whatever you want to Russia, don’t hit the refineries, because that’s a world problem that’s caused. And [Zelenskyy] wants to make problems for the world,” Trump said. “He can do whatever he wants. But you can’t do that because we have a world problem. And the problem is caused by the lack of refineries for diesel fuel. So what does he do? He goes and hits refineries.”
A senior Ukrainian source told ABC News that Ukraine expects the Trump administration to stop sharing U.S. intelligence that tracks Russian missile launches in retaliation over Kyiv’s refusal to end strikes on Russia’s oil industry.
Trump and Zelenskyy have had a tumultuous relationship. In 2025, a meeting in the Oval Office with reporters devolved into a shouting match before the cameras, with Trump and Vice President JD Vance rebuking the Ukrainian president for his handling of the war and even falsely blaming Zelenskyy for beginning the conflict.