Exclusive: Zelensky tells Axios Trump's diesel deal with Putin "not fair and not honest"

Axios · 10/9/2026, 9:37:32 PM

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Axios in a phone interview on Friday that President Trump's decision to unilaterally lift sanctions on Russia and allow it to export diesel was "not fair and not honest." "You know, it looks like a happy birthday present for Putin. It looks absolutely terrible," Zelensky said in frustration, referring to the Russian president's birthday earlier this week. Why it matters: Trump's announcement, which came after a call with Putin, shocked Ukraine and many European governments and created a new crisis between the U.S. and its Western allies. During the 15-minute interview, Zelensky sounded exasperated and dismayed and even expressed a sense of betrayal by the news of the diesel deal. Trump was asked several times by reporters on Friday about Zelensky's criticism but declined to comment and said he was happy about the deal with Putin. Driving the news: Trump announced the deal with Putin as his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were meeting in Miami with the Ukrainian negotiating team along with senior diplomats from Germany, France, the U.K., the EU and NATO to discuss new U.S. ideas for ending the war. Zelensky said he spoke several days ago with Witkoff about the need to continue efforts to reach a diplomatic breakthrough before winter and the midterm elections. "Steve proposed to meet in Florida. And of course I accepted to go there and speak about the possibilities of negotiations. The Americans said they have some ideas and we agreed to come to discuss," Zelensky said. At no point during his talks with Witkoff and Kushner did the U.S. suggest that a diesel deal with Russia was on the table, Zelensky stressed. He said he understood from Witkoff that the U.S. envoys planned to take messages from the Florida talks to the Russians and then potentially travel to Kyiv to try to seal a peace deal. Behind the scenes: Zelensky said that an hour before Trump's statement, his negotiators, who were meeting with Kushner and Witko