President Donald Trump repeatedly asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to stop striking Russian oil refineries during a Sunday phone call, telling him the attacks are pushing up global diesel prices, according to a source cited by Axios. The two leaders now plan to meet Tuesday in New York, where Ukraine's chief negotiator says talks have narrowed to just one or two remaining sticking points.
U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly pressed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to stop Ukraine's strikes on Russian oil refineries during a phone call on Sunday, a source familiar with the call told Axios. The source said the strikes are driving up global diesel prices and that the subject came up many times during the conversation.
A New York meeting takes shape
Zelensky said after the call that he and Trump will meet on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday. Writing on X, he called it an important conversation and said the meeting could change a lot, adding that there is diplomatic momentum and that Ukraine is ready to take serious steps toward a de-escalation deal with Russia. Rustem Umerov, Zelensky's chief negotiator and head of Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service, has spent recent days working with White House envoys to organize the sit-down.
Negotiators narrow the gaps
Umerov told Axios the number of stumbling blocks in the talks has fallen from dozens to essentially one or two key issues, calling the trend positive. He dismissed a Kyiv Independent report of growing Ukrainian frustration with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff as false, saying he has worked daily with Witkoff and Trump adviser Jared Kushner for the past year. The meeting follows Trump's decision days earlier to sign a Russia sanctions bill and approve the largest U.S. arms deal with Ukraine since taking office, steps Kyiv had sought for months.
Fighting persists despite diplomacy
Battlefield activity has moved in the opposite direction. Ukraine fired missiles at Moscow and hit an oil refinery on Sunday, while Russia has struck Kyiv and other major cities almost daily in recent weeks. Russia has signaled it is willing to consider de-escalation steps ahead of winter and a resumption of trilateral talks, though there has been little progress toward an actual deal.
For now, the diesel-price angle behind Trump's request rests on a single unnamed source, and neither government has publicly said whether Ukraine will change its approach to refinery strikes.
Source: Axios
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