Link for the Global Poor: https://archive.li/b0Xek#selection-1897.0-1941.202
The Trump administration is threatening to stop the procurement system that provides Ukraine with weapons in order to press Kyiv to halt its deep strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, according to officials in Europe.
The officials, who received calls from American officials on Saturday and Sunday or were briefed on them, said the US was lobbying European capitals and Kyiv in an attempt to end the attacks on Russian oil refineries. The White House declined to confirm or comment on the calls.
The US message, the officials added, included threats to cut off intelligence sharing and Purl — the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List mechanism for procuring US weapons for Ukraine.
“They are calling Kyiv . . . they are calling everyone [in Europe],” said an official who received a call from a US defence official.
Trump on Sunday surprised Kyiv and the Europeans his administration had sought to pressure, when he announced on social media that Ukraine and Russia had reached a ceasefire to halt attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure.
“Effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine. Both parties have agreed. Do not break it!” the US president wrote on his Truth Social platform. The office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it was unaware of a deal, and it was not immediately clear whether Russia had agreed.
One person who said he was contacted by US officials was Pavlo Palisa, Zelenskyy’s military adviser and former general of Ukraine’s 93rd mechanised brigade.
Shortly before Trump claimed an energy ceasefire had been reached, Zelenskyy had reiterated his own desire for such a deal in an interview with ABC News on Sunday morning.
“Just now our repair teams are restoring electricity and water supplies in Kyiv [after Russian strikes moments ago],” a senior Ukrainian official close to Zelenskyy told the FT on Sunday moments after Trump posted his statement. “Nobody has heard [of the ceasefire].”
The White House also declined to say whether Trump would heed Zelenskyy’s proposal to force Russian President Vladimir Putin to accept a total ceasefire for 60 days so that Ukraine could hold elections.
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Submission Statement: Relevant to this sub’s concern with global energy markets and with’s Ukraine’s attempts to defend it’s internationally recognized borders against invasion, which is in keeping with an international rules-based order and global liberalism.