Exclusive: 'It felt like a trap,' how Ukraine was blindsided by Trump's Putin pivot
When U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner told Ukraine's delegation on Oct. 9 that President Donald Trump was preparing to lift sanctions on Russian diesel exports, the Ukrainians struggled to believe what they were hearing. The delegation had traveled to the United States to discuss a possible energy ceasefire with Russia. Instead, Kyiv's negotiators found themselves blindsided by a…
Ukrainian officials were blindsided by a U.S. decision to lift sanctions on Russian diesel exports, believing it would benefit Kyiv's efforts to negotiate an energy ceasefire. The delegation, including a European presence, felt like they were being led into a trap. President Zelensky had sent a delegation to the U.S. for talks on Oct.
9-10 about possible energy truces, but the talks were derailed when Trump informed Russian President Putin of the decision. Ukrainian officials were not informed of the decision in advance and had not known the details until the announcement was made. The U.S. Treasury Department quickly issued a temporary general license for Russian diesel sales, set to expire on April 7.
This move placed Russia in a position to financially benefit from the sanctions removal while Kyiv's leverage in negotiations was undermined. Ukrainian officials argued that any energy ceasefire should involve both sides stopping attacks on each other's energy infrastructure. The U.S. lifted sanctions on Russian diesel exports, effectively giving Moscow fresh revenue and undermining Ukraine's position in negotiations.
Written by urgent.news from Kyiv Independent's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
