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U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner raised the possibility of cutting off intelligence sharing with Ukraine if Kyiv did not heed Washington’s warning to stop striking Russian oil refineries, the Financial Times (FT) reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The warning came during nearly eight hours of talks in Miami on Friday, which were derailed when the Ukrainian team was blindsided by U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of a deal with Vladimir Putin to release Russian diesel, the FT reported, citing three people with direct knowledge of the talks.
Ukraine uses U.S. intelligence to carry out its long-range strikes on Russian refineries, a key part of its effort to choke off revenue for Moscow’s war economy.
Ukrainian officials viewed the U.S. request for Kyiv to halt strikes unilaterally, without pressing Moscow to do the same, as unfair and relayed that to the U.S. side.
A U.S. official earlier told Axios that no threat was made, saying Witkoff and Kushner told the Ukrainians the U.S. was a strong partner providing munitions and intelligence, so Kyiv should not take actions that hurt American consumers.
Washington halted intelligence cooperation with Kyiv for eight days in March 2025 after a heated Oval Office clash between Trump and Zelenskyy.
A senior Ukrainian official said after Trump’s announcement that Kyiv would continue its strikes. "We will burn (Russian) refineries," the official told the FT, adding that the Ukrainian team cut its trip short instead of holding a second round of talks Saturday.
Hours later, Ukrainian forces struck the Yug Rusi oil terminal in Rostov-on-Don, according to Russian authorities.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Trump’s move "a weak decision made by strong partners," saying the deal "only emboldens Putin and enables (Russia) to continue fighting."
"President Trump’s decision seriously undermines the reputation of the U.S. and his credibility as a president, because this decision might lead to strengthening the Russian war machine," said Oleksandr Merezhko, chair of the Ukrainian parliament’s foreign affairs committee.
Russian glide bombs killed 12 people, including three children, and wounded 14 others in Zaporizhzhia early Saturday, Zelenskyy said.
"Today, Russia expressed its thanks for the lifting of sanctions on diesel exports by dropping five glide bombs on residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia," he wrote on X.
"Different signals are needed. Russia must understand that it needs to stop the war, and for that to happen, Russia must feel its losses. Right now, it is our long-range capabilities that are ensuring this. And we will respond to Russian strikes," he said.
A six-year-old girl was among the dead.
"Her birthday would have been at the end of the month," her grandfather, Anatoliy Chumniy, told Reuters.
Russian ballistic missiles and drones also attacked Kyiv on Saturday, causing "large-scale power outages," energy company DTEK said in a statement on Telegram, as the dispute over intelligence sharing and refinery strikes deepens.
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