Zelensky offers US a "diesel deal" and warns of looming global food crisis

President Volodymyr Zelensky has proposed that the United States sign a "diesel deal" with Ukraine, saying Kyiv would stop hitting Russian diesel infrastructure if its own power system could be guaranteed protection. He made the offer on 12 October at the Warsaw Security Forum, in remarks posted in three parts on his official Telegram channel.

The proposal responds to President Donald Trump's decision to allow Russian diesel into the market and to his announced "energy ceasefire" between Russia and Ukraine.

The "diesel deal" offer

Zelensky said he does not believe the volume of diesel Russia will export affects global prices. By his figures, Russia can currently export 300,000 to 500,000 tonnes a month, while world consumption is 120 million tonnes a month. He put Russia's share of global diesel at 2.2% and said its influence on prices is therefore minimal. These figures are the president's own and were not independently verified.

"I think, therefore, there is an entirely different rationale behind these actions," he said, according to his posts. He argued that if the US sees the issue differently, it should make a deal with Ukraine, since Ukraine affects whether Russian ships sail and whether Russian refineries operate.

"What matters to us is electricity," Zelensky said. If Ukraine's electrical system can be protected, he said, "we will not respond against Russian diesel infrastructure." He described electricity as first of all help for people, and also for Europe. Ukraine is connected to the European grid, he noted, and can supply cheaper power to countries with shortages if its energy sector is not destroyed.

"So yes, let's sign the appropriate 'diesel deal' with the President of the United States," he said.

He also said the roots of the energy price crisis lie in the Middle East, which he said "everyone understands".

No signals from Moscow

On peace efforts, Zelensky said Ukraine sees no signals that Russia wants the war to end, and no "elementary steps" towards de-escalation. He said Russian President Vladimir Putin takes advantage of the fact that others want a dialogue "in which there is no equality, no fairness".

Ukraine, he said, is showing that it is a normal, independent state ready to negotiate, but "Ukraine will not disgrace itself."

Warning on grain and hunger

Zelensky said the world is talking about diesel and forgetting grain. In "a month or two," he said, "everyone will start talking about an agricultural crisis", with food shortages in Africa, some Asian countries and the Middle East, to which Ukraine exports millions of tonnes.

He said Russia is currently "blocking the sea". He gave no details of what that means in practice, and the claim could not be checked from the posts. The US does not feel the effect, he said, which is why Washington is focused only on energy.

"This is another challenge. This is hunger," Zelensky said, adding that many crises can be stopped before they begin.

Background

The remarks follow a run of US announcements this week. RealUA has reported that Trump announced a diesel supply deal with Putin, after which efforts to restart peace talks stalled, according to the New York Times. A bipartisan group of seven US senators said the decision to allow Russian diesel imports contradicts a 2022 congressional ban.

Trump has also announced an "energy ceasefire", which he said took effect immediately. A White House representative told Axios it covers only attacks on each other's oil refineries. Russia has not confirmed the arrangement. Zelensky said Russia struck the CHP-5 thermal power plant in Kharkiv hours after the announcement.

The "diesel deal" is a proposal by Zelensky. There has been no US response in the source material, and no such agreement exists.