Zelenskyy Says U.S. Warned It Could Cut Intel Over Refinery Strikes. Trump Says Sharing Continues

Since Trump announced an "energy ceasefire" on Truth Social on Sunday, Oct. 11, the dispute has widened from a missing truce into a fight over whether Washington is using intelligence as leverage.

In an interview with NPR in Kyiv on Tuesday, Oct. 13, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Trump administration warned it could cut off intelligence-sharing unless Ukrainian forces stop long-range drone strikes on oil refineries inside Russia. That is Zelenskyy's account. The documents do not include a U.S. official describing the warning.

Trump, asked the same day whether the U.S. had stopped sharing intelligence, said: "We are helping them and we are sharing intel, we want the war to end." Outside the White House before leaving for an Alaska campaign rally for Sen. Dan Sullivan, he answered "no, we haven't."

The missed warning on Kyiv

Zelenskyy said in a post on X that Ukraine got "no early warning from our partners" before five Russian ballistic missiles hit civilian infrastructure in Kyiv. He called the strike "particularly vile." He did not say which partners he meant.

The U.S. can spot Russian ballistic launches immediately, and American officials have previously notified Kyiv so it could sound public alarms and use air defenses. Iskander missiles reach targets in Ukraine in a few minutes.

A senior Ukrainian official, speaking anonymously because he was not authorized to comment, told the AP that Kyiv was told the lapse was a "failure." The official said that suggested conditions such as weather rather than a deliberate decision. That is one anonymous account, and Zelenskyy has not publicly said the gap was intentional.

Ukraine's air defense is already stretched. The AP reports that a shortage of Patriot missiles, caused by the U.S.-led war in Iran, has made downing ballistic missiles harder.

Russia has not stopped

Zelenskyy said Ukraine halted strikes on Russian refineries for two days after Trump's announcement, but that "Russia did not heed the American president." He said 19 regions were attacked in those two days. A residential building in Kharkiv was destroyed and four people were killed. Russia used more than 100 weapons since Monday evening, he said.

Moscow has not confirmed any truce. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Sunday that contacts were ongoing. On Monday, Oct. 12, Peskov said both Putin and other officials "have repeatedly stated that we do not want a ceasefire."

Trump's post said: "Both parties have agreed. Do not break it!" A White House official told Axios the proposal initially focused on oil refineries, with power plants and grids possibly to follow, and acknowledged Russia had not yet agreed.

Zelenskyy told Fox News on Monday that Ukraine is "ready today for energy ceasefire" but doubted Putin was. He told the Warsaw Security Forum that if Russia wants refinery strikes stopped, it "must stop its strikes against our energy system and critical infrastructure." He added that such a ceasefire is needed "in reality, not just on Truth Social."

Diesel and who gets blamed

On Friday, Oct. 9, Trump moved to ease sanctions on Russian diesel exports. Zelenskyy called it "a weak decision by strong partners." Trump has said the deal followed an Oct. 9 call with Putin and that more than 300,000 tons would ship immediately, with 500,000 tons expected in November and a million in December.

A bipartisan group of senators, including Republicans Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins alongside Democrats, has urged Trump to rescind the arrangement.

Trump had blamed Ukraine for rising diesel prices. Zelenskyy rejected that to NPR, saying: "Because of Hormuz. Yes. Because of blocking the Strait of Hormuz." He said lifting sanctions on Russian diesel will not bring prices down.

Trump also clarified Tuesday that a post suggesting the U.S. would buy Russian diesel was misread. "That's a world deal," he said, adding that Russia would not be selling to America.

He said Putin and Zelenskyy both want the war to end but do not know how to get there. "There's a lot of hatred there between the two of them," he said. Days earlier, Trump said "it's time for Ukraine to get a new president." The AP described that as perhaps the lowest point in their relationship since the February 2025 Oval Office meeting.

What comes next

Zelenskyy said he is waiting for details of the conversation between the Americans and Russians and for "specific steps the Americans are ready to take." He has said Ukraine will respond this winter if Russia does not accept an energy truce.

Two questions remain open: whether Washington will ask Moscow for the same restraint it reportedly asked of Kyiv, and whether Kyiv will keep striking refineries without Russian agreement.