Trump, Putin discuss ‘de-escalation in Ukraine’ amid major diesel deal... Zelenskyy blasts the move as “clear weakness”

[Financial News] U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone to discuss ways to ease tensions in the war in Ukraine. As the United States moved to temporarily ease sanctions on Russian diesel to stabilize energy prices, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy strongly pushed back, calling the move “clear weakness.”

According to TASS, RIA Novosti and other news agencies on the 10th (local time), Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said of the call between the two leaders the previous evening, “Most of the time was devoted to resolving the situation in Ukraine,” adding that “the Russian president expressed ‘understanding’ of some of the U.S. proposals to ease tensions.”
The two leaders’ call, their sixth so far this year, also covered issues related to the conflict between the United States and Iran. President Putin reportedly conveyed to President Trump Iran’s plan for resolving the war in Iran, based on matters he had coordinated during a recent meeting in Turkmenistan with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

In tandem with the call, the United States partially lifted sanctions on Russian energy imports. President Trump said on Truth Social the previous day, “I had a very successful discussion with President Putin,” adding, “Russia will immediately supply at least 300,000 tons of diesel to the market, and we agreed that it would supply up to 3 million tons in the short term, including 500,000 tons during November and 1 million tons immediately afterward.”
The U.S. Treasury Department also issued a temporary general license allowing transactions in Russian diesel for about six months, through April 7 next year. The move is seen as an effort to quell public discontent over high oil prices ahead of the U.S. midterm elections in November.
The U.S. online outlet Axios reported that the United States had conveyed to relevant countries a plan to lower prices through energy trade with Russia and encourage Russia to make concessions in peace talks. The report also said that plans were under consideration for President Trump’s special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to visit Moscow and Kyiv next week.

Ukraine immediately pushed back. President Zelenskyy said on social media platform X, “Easing sanctions without a clear and lasting agreement with Russia on de-escalation is clear ‘weakness.’ Peace does not come from weakness,” sharply condemning the move.
Despite talks between the U.S. and Russian leaders and the sanctions relief, bloodshed continued on the battlefield. According to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service, Russian forces dropped five aerial bombs on a residential building in Zaporizhzhia that day, killing at least 15 people, including three children, and injuring 16. Zelenskyy pointedly remarked, “Russia expressed its gratitude for the easing of sanctions on diesel by dropping five bombs on a residential building in Zaporizhzhia.”
Ukraine’s largest private energy company, DTEK, also reported that Russian airstrikes had caused a large-scale power outage in the capital, Kyiv. Meanwhile, four civilians were reported killed and five injured in Ukrainian attacks in the Luhansk region of Ukraine, which is occupied and controlled by Russia.
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