Putin splits Western alliance against Russia over diesel deal with Trump | Gravitas

Facing growing pressure ahead of the midterm polls, U.S. President Donald Trump's frustration is growing. After striking a diesel deal with Russia, he called for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's ouster.

Thereafter, he announced an energy ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia.

However, Zelensky claimed that Russia doesn't want to accept an energy ceasefire, accusing it of attacking six Ukrainian energy sites on Monday.

In the latest from the battlefield, at least 22 persons, including two children, were injured in Russia's drone strikes on Kharkiv.

The strikes destroyed the upper floors of a nine-storey residential building and sparked a fire.

A sports complex and a 12-storey residential building were also reportedly targeted in the strikes.

Ukraine's air force claimed to have shot down 89 out of 121 Russian drones fired overnight.

Also, a 13-year-old girl was killed in a Russian strike in the city of Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine.

Local authorities also released footage of an alleged Russian strike on a street in Kharkiv, which reportedly killed three people and wounded twenty others.

Taking a veiled swipe at Trump in the wake of these attacks, Zelensky stressed that an energy ceasefire and other steps to reduce escalation are needed in reality and not just on Truth Social.

To buttress his point, he accused Russia of striking a power plant in Kharkiv immediately after Trump's ceasefire announcement.

The Ukrainian president also alleged that Russia carried out over 200 strikes on his country's electricity generation and transmission facilities in the last week, killing more than 150 people and wounding over 700 others.

Zelensky agreed to refrain from striking Russian energy infrastructure only if Moscow does the same.

As part of the diesel deal, Trump claimed that Russia will immediately supply over three hundred thousand tonnes of diesel fuel to the U.S. as well as the global marketplace.

He added that Moscow would then supply five hundred thousand tonnes of diesel in November, followed by one million more after that.

This drew a strong rebuke from Canada.

During his conversation with Zelensky, Canadian PM Mark Carney emphasised that this agreement does not align with efforts to foster peace in Europe.

He said, "It will provide additional revenue for Russia and help finance its illegal, unjustifiable war against Ukraine."

French President Emmanuel Macron also made light of Trump's ceasefire announcement.

While expressing willingness to work in a coordinated manner to lower fuel prices, he warned against yielding to Russia's threats.

Macron also emphasised the importance of facilitating transit of energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea.

Meanwhile, the European Union has upped the ante against Russia.

In its single-biggest listing of sanctions since the beginning of the Ukraine war in 2022, the EU imposed sanctions on almost 1,600 Russians and companies linked to the country's arms industry.

Disagreeing with the diesel deal, the bloc's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas ruled out easing pressure on Russia.

Similarly, Polish PM Donald Tusk threw his weight behind Zelensky.

Maintaining that Ukraine will not be intimidated, he urged Europe to seriously consider stepping up sanctions against Russia.

Other countries, including Germany, Estonia and Lithuania, also expressed solidarity with Ukraine.

Despite overwhelming criticism from Europe, the U.S. continued to justify its diesel deal.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent maintained that this agreement is good for American people, as it will help bring fuel prices down.

This is not all.

Opposition to Trump is growing from within America.

A group of four Republicans and three Democrats in the U.S. Senate, including Republican Senator Susan Collins, urged the U.S. president to reverse course on the diesel deal with Russia....

Even Mike Pompeo, who served as the U.S. Secretary of State during Trump's first presidency, called it a tactical mistake.

Now, while Russia said that discussions were ongoing regarding a possible energy ceasefire, it declined to comment on the specifics.

Additionally, it rejected a 60-day ceasefire idea proposed by Zelensky to allow Ukraine to hold a presidential election.

While saying that Putin is ready to halt the strikes only on election day, the Kremlin expressed a preference for an overall peace deal.

With the growing rift between the U.S. and its allies and Trump's bonhomie with Putin, an early cessation of hostilities in Ukraine seems quite unlikely.