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Zelenskyy Joins EU Summit as Trump-Russia Diesel Deal and Ukraine Energy Strikes Widen Transatlantic Rift
Read this in the Market Flux appUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived at the second day of the EU summit in Brussels on Friday as European leaders rallied behind him amid a deepening split with the United States over the war in Ukraine. The immediate flashpoint is a deal struck by President Donald Trump to purchase Russian diesel, initially more than 300,000 tons immediately, followed by 500,000 tons in November and 1 million tons thereafter, which Zelenskyy condemned as "not fair and not honest" and likened to a birthday gift for Vladimir Putin. Trump had previously suggested Ukraine should find a new leader, accusing Zelenskyy of blocking potential deals and blaming Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries for rising fuel costs ahead of U.S. midterm elections.
Trump claimed over the weekend that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an "energy ceasefire," but Zelenskyy said Russia continued striking Ukrainian energy facilities and that he had no details of any such agreement. The episode has alarmed European capitals, which view Trump's rapprochement with Moscow as undermining years of coordinated sanctions policy. EU leaders were reported to be urging Zelenskyy to temper his public rhetoric against Trump, even as they expressed solidarity with Kyiv and continued support for Ukraine.
The geopolitical strains were visible elsewhere in the financial world. Russia's Finance Minister Anton Siluanov attended the Group of 20 finance ministers meeting in Bangkok on Thursday, his second in-person appearance since Moscow's 2022 invasion, a sign of Moscow's gradual reintegration into multilateral forums that is testing Washington's relationship with European allies. Separately, Russia moved to seize or restrict the assets of more European firms ahead of the Brussels summit, adding fresh pressure on the bloc. The White House was also reported to be weighing an easing of restrictions on Russian and Iranian shadow fleet vessels, a step framed as a way to lower fuel costs before the midterms. Anthony Scaramucci publicly criticized the Russian diesel arrangement, saying Putin "humiliates Trump every chance he gets."
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Sources
- CNBCRussia’s finance minister attended a Group of 20 meeting in Bangkok on Thursday, his second in-person appearance at the event since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, testing how far Washington’s rapprochement with Moscow will strain ties with Europe. Anton Siluanov and Bank of Russia Deputy Governor Elizaveta Danilova were listed as Russia’s delegates at the finance ministers and central bank governors’ meetings on the sidelines of the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok, Thailand:
- PiQMarketsWhite House ordered Starlink speed limits for Ukraine military, Reuters says The White House ordered speed restrictions on Starlink systems used by Ukraine's military, Reuters reported on Oct. 15, citing U.S. and Western officials. The limitations, which disrupted drone operations, came amid escalating tensions between Kyiv and the Trump administration over strikes on Russian oil refineries.
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