New York Times: Russia's diesel deal has now become one of Trump's midterm campaign slogans / In recent months, Witkoff, Kushner and Vance have all urged Zelensky not to attack Russian oil refineries.

In recent months, Trump's top envoys on the Ukraine war, Steve Wittkoff and Jared Kushner, as well as Vance, have all urged Zelensky not to attack Russian oil refineries, according to a person familiar with the conversations. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to comment on sensitive diplomacy.

The New York Times wrote: During the 2024 election campaign, Donald Trump promised to reduce prices and quickly end the war in Ukraine.

According to "Select" report; It is further stated in this article: Now, two years later, none of these two promises have been fulfilled. Trump has thrown more chaos into his efforts to bring peace to Ukraine by trying to lower fuel prices ahead of the midterm elections.

Trump's already strained relationship with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hit a new snag on Thursday when the Ukrainian leader said he would not comply with a US request to refrain from attacking Russian refineries. This happened after the US lifted sanctions on Russian diesel last week.

At the same time, Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to refuse to accept Trump's call for a ceasefire, and an end to the war seems more out of reach than ever before.

The fallout with Zelensky and the escalation of hostilities have collectively become a new vulnerability for the White House, highlighting two issues: Trump's remarkably friendly approach to Russia and his inability to end Europe's biggest war in generations.

So far, no points have been reported from Russia in exchange for Trump's decision to cancel the country's diesel sanctions, and this action has not yet reduced the pressure caused by the increase in fuel prices at the stations. According to data from the American Automobile Association (AAA), the average price of a gallon of diesel in the United States was about $6.32 on Thursday; While this figure was $6.29 a week ago.

Still, the White House appears to be hoping voters will care more about Trump's efforts to lower prices than the fate of Ukraine and stop being surprised by his easygoing approach to Putin. The agreement related to Russian diesel has now become one of Trump's campaign axes; He is trying to help Republicans avoid losing control of Congress in the Nov. 3 election.

In his recent campaign rally in Syracuse, New York, Trump saw this agreement as a sign of his efforts to reduce the price of gasoline.

He said: "Russia has agreed to send us millions and millions of barrels of oil and diesel. This is what we really need."

Trump administration officials have argued that an agreement with Russia could pave the way for peace in Ukraine; Because it shows Putin and the hardliners around him that it is possible to establish strong relations with the United States after the end of the war.

But Democrats and even some Republicans reacted with anger to Trump's gas deal with Putin. Many considered this action to be the most obvious move by the Trump administration towards Russia's interests to date; A government that, despite Trump's friendly statements about Putin, had retained many of the policies of the Joe Biden era in support of Ukraine.

"We need to lower the price of diesel, but I don't think we need to make a deal with Russia to do that," Ashley Hinson, a Republican candidate for the US Senate from Iowa, said during a debate on Tuesday.

This week, a bipartisan group of senators called on Trump to reverse his decision to ease sanctions on Russian diesel. They described the agreement as "a gift to our enemy".

Megan Mobbs, a conservative pro-Ukraine activist, called Trump's attempt to provide economic incentives to Russia "a policy completely similar to the second version of Obama"; An expression that is considered a heavy insult in Washington under the administration of Trump, because the current administration has strongly rejected Barack Obama, the former president of the United States.

"Putin has humiliated Trump," Mobbs said in a phone interview from Ukraine.

He was referring to the almost immediate violation of the ceasefire regarding attacks on energy targets; The ceasefire that Trump announced last weekend.

Mobbs added: "I don't think there's a more obvious way to show disrespect."

Mobbs and others said the dispute is unlikely to affect the midterm elections; Because voters' attention is mainly focused on economic issues. According to them, it is the war in Iran, not the war in Ukraine, that has upset Americans amid rising fuel prices.

However, polls show that Trump's friendly approach to Putin has left him on the fringes of American public opinion, even among Republicans.

The Pew Research Center found in March that 83 percent of Americans have an unfavorable view of Russia; The same amount, i.e. 83%, was also recorded among the Republicans.

But if Trump is counting on the assumption that Russia has moved down the list of voters' concerns, he may be right.

According to a July poll by the Chicago Council on World Affairs, 42 percent of Americans see Russia's territorial ambitions as a "vital threat." This figure was 50% two years ago and reached 67% in 2022, just after the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"I think public opinion is not focused on Ukraine," said Bruce Stokes, a foreign policy and public opinion expert at the German Marshall Fund think tank. There are a lot of things going on."

The dispute between Trump and Zelensky last week has become the most serious break in US-Ukrainian relations since the two presidents publicly sparred in the Oval Office of the White House in February 2025.

Ukraine and its supporters tried hard to win Trump's support; Among other things, by getting close to the influential figures of the "MAGA" movement and the agreement according to which the United States gets a share in the mineral reserves of Ukraine.

Trump at times seemed impressed by Zelensky and Ukraine's determination to resist. He praised Zelensky in June, describing him as a "brave" person fighting alongside "great men."

But over the summer, with fuel prices rising and midterm elections looming, Trump and his administration grew increasingly concerned about the war's impact on energy costs.

US Vice President JD Vance called Zelensky on July 31. According to the announcement of the office of the President of Ukraine, the two sides discussed "the consequences of the Russian war for world markets" in this call.

"Mr. Zelensky has to do one thing: He has to stop targeting diesel production facilities in Russia," Trump announced on September 13.

The export statistics showed that the main part of the lack of diesel supply was caused by the war with Iran; However, attacks on Russian oil refineries have also played a role in this situation.

Ukraine has announced that it is ready to stop its attacks on Russian refineries, provided that Russia also stops its attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure. Putin rejected this offer.

Despite this, Trump suspended sanctions on Russian diesel on Friday.

Zelensky's anger grew this week; Especially after Ukrainian officials announced that the United States may have suspended intelligence support and Starlink satellite Internet services to the Ukrainian military.

American officials have said that the exchange of information with Ukraine has not decreased. On Thursday, a bipartisan group of senators called for a Pentagon investigation into the reported disruptions.

In an interview with the Financial Times published on Thursday, Zelensky said Ukraine had halted attacks on Russian refineries for three days to comply with Trump's request, but was now resuming them.

He criticized Trump for making deals with Putin and publicly praising authoritarian leaders who cling to power.

"How could Trump be friends with him?" Zelensky asked. "I think it's a mistake," he added.

Republican supporters of Ukraine now worry that Zelensky's attacks will make matters worse.

When Trump was angry with Zelensky last weekend, some of the Ukrainian president's critics in Trump's inner circle called him to air their grievances, according to the same person familiar with the matter.