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Ukrainian President: Letting Russia sell fuel means investing in its war

10 October 2026 01:46 (UTC +04:00)

Gifts to Putin will not bring peace or any benefit to the civilized world; Russia will “repay” the diesel gesture with further terror and atrocities, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a Telegram post, APA reports citing Ukrinform.

“Peace never comes through weakness. Today, representatives of the U.S. Congress were in Kyiv – a bipartisan delegation – and I am grateful to them for visiting Ukraine at such a difficult time. They asked: what is needed to end the war? The answer must be strong. There must be sanctions under the Lindsey Graham bill, there must be support for Ukraine in protecting lives, and there must be pressure on Russia for its war. And today, there was a conversation between the leaders of America and Russia. A conversation that leads to something different,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

According to him, following the European decision to lift sanctions on Russian oligarchs, Russian strikes and abuses against civilians have only increased. Just this week, there was a brutal Russian missile strike on a residential building in Pryluky, airstrikes on Kramatorsk – targeting ordinary city buses – and continued attacks on Kyiv’s energy infrastructure and critical infrastructure in Dnipro, Kharkiv, Odesa and other Ukrainian cities. Dozens of people have been killed and hundreds injured.

“The Russians are compensating for their inability to achieve their objectives on the battlefield with this kind of terror. This year, Russia is weaker on the battlefield than at any other point in the war. That is why Putin is relying on terror. That is why he is relying on attempts to strike backroom deals to secure some form of pressure relief for Russia, in order to buy more time and more opportunities for war,” the President stressed.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes that gifts to Putin will not bring peace or any benefit to the civilized world.

“Russia will ‘repay’ the diesel with further terror and perfidy. Allowing Russia to sell petroleum products is an investment in a war that must be ended, not prolonged. What is needed is real de-escalation with Russia on a reciprocal basis,” the post said.