At the Warsaw Security Forum, Ukraine’s Acting President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed for Europe to take the lead, once again, in deflecting U.S. President Donald Trump from any cooperation with Russia. He centered his presentation on repackaging Trump’s demand to stop attacks on oil and diesel processing facilities into a more general ceasefire on all energy installations.

Zelensky cited Moscow’s “targeted strike on a power plant in Kharkiv, causing further damage to our energy system,” as an example of Russia defying Trump. “But if Russia wants us to stop our long-range strikes against its oil refineries and oil exports, then Russia must stop its strikes against our energy system and critical infrastructure.... So, there were Russian violations of the energy ceasefire announced by President Trump.” Further, he argued, Ukraine is not attacking refineries but is waiting for details of the conversation between the United States and Russia. “We are waiting to see what specific steps the Americans are ready to take.”

His call went out: “This energy ceasefire can work. And it can become a major step toward ending the war—if the Americans truly step in now and make sure Russia respects the energy ceasefire... Europe is not the source of the problems. Europe is not the one making everything more difficult. Most importantly, we need people in America... to really see what is happening. To see the truth….”

During the discussion, Zelensky argued that allowing Russian diesel fuel onto the international market won’t bring down the price. Hence, Trump must be up to something else. The President emphasized that the volumes of diesel fuel Russia will export will not affect its price, “So I believe there are entirely different reasons behind these actions”—a possible reference to his mooted displacement.