Axios reported that Donald Trump decided to make a deal with Russia on diesel fuel after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ignored U.S. requests to stop strikes on Russian refineries. Zelensky called the deal an "unjustified gift to Putin" and a sign of weakness.

According to the report, Ukrainian officials were informed of Trump's decision during an eight-hour meeting in Miami. They were allegedly threatened with being cut off from U.S. intelligence if Ukraine continued to ignore Trump's requests. A U.S. source denied the threat, stating that negotiators merely reminded Ukraine that the U.S. supplies it with ammunition and intelligence and that it should not harm American consumers.