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U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Russia should make a peace deal with Ukraine, adding that he would do what he could to end the war after a “very good” meeting between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and G7 leaders at their summit in France.
Ukraine’s presidency also shared images of Zelenskyy in conversation with Trump and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the summit’s sidelines.
“I’m gonna do whatever I can,” Trump told reporters, adding that too many young men were dying on the battlefield on both sides.
Zelenskyy said that the G7 leaders had agreed at the Évian-les-Bains summit that Russia was not winning its war in Ukraine, and had discussed additional sanctions to bring Moscow to the negotiating table.
Speaking by video link in an interview at the Reuters NEXT Europe summit in London, Zelenskyy said Russia would face a very difficult winter — amid escalating Ukrainian attacks on its energy infrastructure — if a peace deal was not reached before then.
Zelenskyy said that Trump had responded very positively to his request to increase supplies of air defence missiles to Ukraine.
“The key focus is to strengthen air defence for Ukraine and advance diplomacy, to make Russia end its war,” Zelenskyy posted on X after the meeting. “Peace is needed.”
Zelenskyy and European leaders sought to impress upon Trump that Ukraine’s fortunes have improved as Kyiv pushes for more support to strengthen its hand in eventual peace talks with Moscow.
European leaders have wanted to convince Trump that previous U.S. positions on the possible terms of a deal were overly favourable towards Moscow, particularly now that Ukraine’s drone incursions into Russia have improved its fortunes.
“The tide is turning for Ukraine. The situation in 2026 is very different from 2025. Ukraine is bravely holding the front line,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen posted on X. “Russia’s fatigue is openly showing. That’s the time to double down on our support.”
As Trump touts what the White House portrays as an imminent agreement with Iran to end the fighting and tackle negotiations on a number of topics, Trump said sanctions on Russian oil could return as more product moves through the Strait of Hormuz, where traffic has been throttled by Iran.
The U.S. in March temporarily eased some sanctions on some Russian oil shipments as crude prices sharply increased amid the U.S.-Israel war with Iran. The waiver has been extended as the war stretched on.
“Soon we’ll be able to do that because the oil is now flowing,” Trump told reporters. “We’re in a position to do that soon.”
No talks on the horizon
Zelenskyy said on Monday he had offered to meet Putin at the G7 summit. Putin has repeatedly dismissed the idea of direct talks with Zelenskyy unless they are held in Moscow.
The Kremlin said on Tuesday that no dates have been set yet for Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner to visit Moscow for peace talks on Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, speaking to reporters, suggested that the pair could fly to Moscow after the signing of a memorandum on ending hostilities between the U.S. and Iran.
WATCH | ‘Manpower means nothing’: A look at Ukraine’s asymmetric warfare:
For about four years the Russians were consistently capturing and destroying Ukrainian territory, but that Russian advance appears to have been halted. For The National, CBC’s Terence McKenna breaks down how drone warfare has shifted momentum on the front line.
Speaking at a press conference alongside Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the priority for his country — which hosted previous rounds of direct talks between Ukraine and Russia — was for the sides to resume negotiations and end the war as soon as possible.
In recent months, Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of drone attacks on tankers near Turkey’s northern coast, including one on a Turkish-owned vessel. Ankara has protested to both Kyiv and Moscow over the attacks.
Caps on fuel purchases at some Russian stations
In fighting on Tuesday, Ukrainian drones sparked a fire and damaged a facility at Moscow region’s largest refinery. Oil producer Tatneft announced nationwide fuel purchase caps, signs of the widening impact of Kyiv’s campaign to target Russian energy infrastructure.
Zelenskyy said the Gazprom Neft refinery was hit from a distance of 500 kilometres, illustrating the reach of Ukraine’s long-range strikes.
“This is a just response to Russian strikes — and to the dragging out of a war that must be ended,” he said on X.
Local emergency services said a fire at the refinery, which has been targeted multiple times, had been put out and had not affected operations. Earlier, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said a facility at the site had been damaged, without giving further details.
Seeking to hit a key source of Russia’s war funds, Ukraine’s attacks on refineries have doubled since the start of 2026, leading to full or partial shutdowns of oil processing and a decline in gasoline, diesel and jet fuel output, according to official data, social media, and Reuters calculations.
Around a dozen Russian regions have seen some fuel supply disruptions in recent weeks, but central authorities have so far described issues as localized bottlenecks.
