🚨 Zelensky accused the US of weakness and said that gifts to Putin will not bring peace Following news that sanctions on Russian diesel had been lifted, the Ukrainian president published a lengthy statement on his Telegram channel. Here it is in full: Peace never comes through weakness. Today, representatives of the US Congress — a bipartisan delegation — were in Kyiv, and I am grateful to them for visiting Ukraine at such a difficult time. They asked: “What is needed to end the war?” The answer must be strong. There must be sanctions under Lindsey Graham's legislation, there must be support for Ukraine in protecting lives, and there must be pressure on Russia over the war. And today, the leaders of America and Russia had a conversation. A conversation that leads to another. Recently, Europe made a decision to lift sanctions on Russian oligarchs. Since then, Russian strikes and the suffering inflicted on people have only increased. This week alone, there was a brutal Russian missile strike on a residential building in Pryluky, aerial bombs dropped on Kramatorsk — targeting ordinary city buses — and constant attacks on Kyiv's energy infrastructure and the vital infrastructure of Dnipro, Kharkiv, Odesa and our other cities. Dozens of people have been killed and hundreds wounded. The Russians are compensating for their inability to achieve their objectives on the battlefield with such terror. This year, Russia is weaker on the battlefield than at any other point in the war. That is precisely why Putin relies on terror. That is precisely why he relies on attempts to reach backroom deals to ease pressure on Russia in one way or another, buying more time and more opportunities to continue the war. Any easing of sanctions against Russia without a clear and lasting de-escalation agreement with Russia is an obvious sign of weakness. It plays into Russia's hands, allowing it to kill more people, wage war for longer, show even less respect for America, and inflict even greater losses and damage on the world. Ukraine is ready to take reciprocal steps towards de-escalation, and the American team is aware of our position. Our strikes on Russian oil refineries and other oil facilities are a response to Russia's years-long campaign of terror against Ukraine's energy infrastructure. Ukraine will not set Russian oil refineries ablaze if Russia stops destroying our energy infrastructure. This is precisely the agreement we are proposing to America, and we believe the United States is strong enough to achieve such a compromise. Gifts to Putin will bring neither peace nor any benefit to the civilized world. Russia will “repay” the diesel with more terror and dirty tricks. Allowing Russia to sell petroleum products is an investment in a war that needs to be ended, not prolonged. What is needed is genuine de-escalation with Russia, on a reciprocal basis. We count on America's fair support for our efforts to protect lives and people in Ukraine, as well as a correspondingly strong conversation between the United States and Russia. A strong one, not a weak one.