The US has told European and Ukrainian officials that Washington will stop authorizing arms sales to Ukraine through NATO’s procurement mechanism if Kiev continues to attack Russian energy infrastructure. President Donald Trump has blamed high gas and diesel prices in the US on the war between Ukraine and Russia. 

European officials speaking with the Financial Times said they received calls from their American counterparts on Saturday and Sunday threatening to stop the procurement system that provides Ukraine with weapons. The threats are intended to push Ukraine into an energy truce. 

The threats included suspending intelligence sharing and the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), a NATO-coordinated mechanism through which European countries purchase American weapons for Ukraine.

Twice in the past month, Trump has announced an energy truce between Russia and Ukraine on Truth Social. “Effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine. Both parties have agreed. Do not break it!” the President wrote on Truth Social Sunday. 

However, neither Ukraine nor Russia has implemented the announced truce, and Ukrainian officials have disputed that an agreement was reached. A senior Ukrainian official close to Zelensky told the FT on Sunday moments after Trump posted his statement, “Nobody has heard [of the ceasefire].”

A similar situation played out when Trump announced an energy truce in September. The repeated announcements and reported threats suggest Trump is escalating pressure on Ukraine to halt attacks on Russian refineries.

He announced a major diesel deal with Russia. The agreement suggests Trump is willing to sacrifice a central pillar of Washington’s economic pressure campaign against Moscow to lower fuel prices at home. The attempt to economically isolate Russia was a key part of Ukraine’s strategy to prevail in the war. 

Axios reported that the deal was a result of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky refusing to stop attacking Russian energy targets. “Zelensky is misreading the room. By continuing to hit refineries, he is eroding the good will that he has built with Trump over the last six months,” a US official told the outlet. 

Trump also suggested Ukraine should replace Zelensky with a leader willing to reach a deal with Russia. “He’d better damn well stop,” Trump said, before suggesting Ukraine should “get a new leader who can make a deal.”