Meeting Escalated

A rude awakening for Kyiv: “Felt like a trap”

U.S. President Donald Trump has surprised Ukraine with his deal with Russia.(Bild: AP/Nathan Howard)

The diesel deal between U.S. President Donald Trump and Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin has left Ukraine in a state of disbelief. Now reports reveal that a meeting between the U.S. and Ukraine completely escalated. High-ranking officials speak of a “trap” and devastating threats from the U.S.

A Ukrainian delegation had traveled to the U.S. to discuss a possible end to the war. But once there, the talks took a turn that was completely unexpected for Kyiv: “It felt like a trap,” a high-ranking Ukrainian official told the newspaper “Kyiv Independent.”

At Friday’s meeting in Miami, U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner surprised the Ukrainians with the announcement that Trump had struck the diesel deal with Putin. “Honestly, we were all absolutely shocked,” says the Ukrainian official.

U.S. Threatens Ukraine with Consequences
For months, the Ukrainians have been deliberately targeting Russian infrastructure in order to weaken the Russians economically—and with great success. Now, however, theU.S. is demanding that these attacks stop. “That was an emphatic demand from the U.S. president,” recalls an official.

We were all just sitting there like fools.

Hochrangiger ukrainischer Beamter zum Treffen mit den USA

If the Ukrainian attacks continue, the U.S. could stop sharing intelligence with the Ukrainians, Witkoff and Kushner warned at the meeting, as reported by the “Financial Times,” citing insiders. That would be disastrous, because Ukraine uses intelligence to carry out attacks on Russia.

Trip Cut Short
“It was just that we were all sitting there like fools,” the Ukrainian official said of the negotiations. The conversation escalated to such an extent that the delegation from Kyiv decided to take action and leave early, rather than meet with the U.S. negotiators a second time on Saturday. On Saturday, Trump then demanded that Volodymyr Zelenskyy be removed as head of state. This marks the beginning of a new cold period between Washington and Kyiv.

U.S. President Donald Trump (right) wants to get rid of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.(Bild: Präsidialamt der Ukraine)

Trump’s About-Face
Shortly after the announcement of the diesel deal with Russia, experts were certain that the U.S. president had once again made a massive about-face. Any attack on Russian oil refineries could now be interpreted as an attack on U.S. interests. For Moscow, this is an enormous strategic advantage.

Scenarios involving scapegoats also quickly began circulating: “On the one hand, I’m also worried that Trump will blame Ukraine for diesel prices. On the other hand, I don’t see Trump actually cracking down on Russian diesel exports. He just wanted to make a big announcement. He usually doesn’t care what happens afterward,” explained analyst Janis Kluge on Platform X.

That’s exactly what happened shortly after the deal with Putin was announced. “He wants to cause problems for our farmers and ranchers with diesel fuel, because Russia supplies a large portion of the world’s diesel fuel,” Trump accused Zelenskyy on Saturday. Because, he claimed, only Russia wants to ensure peace. In several statements, the “Commander-in-Chief” thanked Putin on camera for his “efforts.”

Trump Courting Votes
The U.S. president is clearly trying to score points with his voters. The rise in diesel prices is causing considerable discontent among the public ahead of the U.S. congressional elections on November 3. He conveniently omits the fact that Trump himself, in particular, contributed to this with his attack on Iran. As a result of his war, diesel prices in the U.S. have risen by 67 percent since the end of February. Trump’s Republican Party fears it will be punished for this at the polls and lose its congressional majority.