U.S. officials threatened to suspend intelligence sharing with Ukraine unless Kyiv stopped attacking Russian oil refineries, escalating a dispute over Donald Trump’s agreement with Vladimir Putin to bring Russian diesel back onto global markets.
The warning came during nearly eight hours of negotiations in Miami on Friday, according to the Financial Times.
Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, raised the possibility of an intelligence cutoff as Ukrainian negotiators resisted Washington’s demand.
“It was a firm request from POTUS,” a Ukrainian participant told the FT.
Ukraine relies on American intelligence for strikes intended to reduce the oil revenues financing Russia’s war.
Washington’s demand would constrain that campaign while its proposed sanctions relief would open another route for Moscow to earn export income.
Diesel Agreement Disrupts Talks
The Miami meeting was intended to advance efforts to end the war.
Instead, three people with direct knowledge of the negotiations said Trump’s announcement of the diesel agreement caught the Ukrainian delegation by surprise and disrupted the discussions.
Witkoff and Kushner told their counterparts that Washington was preparing to remove sanctions on Russian diesel and that Moscow planned to end its export ban, according to another person familiar with the talks.
Trump has repeatedly sought an end to Ukraine’s long-range refinery attacks, citing pressure on diesel supplies worldwide and the resulting costs for American consumers.
His administration’s frustration has increased as Kyiv continued its campaign.
Ukrainian negotiators objected to being asked to stop their attacks without an equivalent demand on Russia.
One senior Ukrainian official said the agreement destroyed trust between the governments.
“We will burn (Russian) refineries,” another senior Ukrainian official said after Trump’s announcement.
Russian authorities reported a Ukrainian attack on the Yug Rusi oil terminal in Rostov-on-Don hours later.
The Ukrainian official also said the delegation would leave early, abandoning a planned second round of talks on Saturday.
Witkoff offered a more favorable public assessment, saying the meeting had advanced discussions and that both sides intended to maintain diplomatic engagement.
A person familiar with the negotiations said work continued on a peace proposal that could reach Moscow before winter, despite the dispute.
Zelensky Challenges Export Relief
Volodymyr Zelensky criticized the diesel agreement after Russia launched ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones at Kyiv on Saturday afternoon.
Explosions shook the capital, where air defenses intercepted at least one drone above a densely populated neighborhood.
“Russia’s choice is war. And they will be ready to end it only when they feel that their ability to drag the war out is diminishing,” he said.
The Ukrainian president argued that additional export earnings would finance weapons components, drone upgrades, missiles and recruitment.
He said Trump’s agreement risked encouraging Putin to continue attacking.
Ukrainian authorities said Russian missile and drone attacks had killed more than 80 people since Wednesday.
A separate glide-bomb strike in Zaporizhzhia on Saturday killed at least 17 civilians, including three children.
Oleksandr Merezhko, who chairs the Ukrainian parliament’s foreign affairs committee, said the diesel agreement could strengthen Russia’s military capacity and damage Trump’s credibility.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas also opposed sanctions relief, arguing that it would increase Moscow’s war revenues. She said Europe would maintain pressure on Russia.
Intelligence Support As Pressure
Washington’s position marks a reversal from a year earlier, when Trump urged Ukraine to intensify refinery attacks to weaken Russia’s economy and push Putin toward negotiations, according to two people briefed on that call.
The administration has previously used intelligence cooperation to pressure Kyiv.
Washington suspended it for eight days in March last year after Trump confronted Zelensky in the Oval Office.
Ukrainian and Western officials said the administration had repeatedly threatened further suspensions if Kyiv rejected its positions.
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