FT: US threatens to halt PURL and intelligence to stop Ukraine hitting refineries

What the FT reported

The administration of US President Donald Trump is threatening to halt PURL, the mechanism through which Ukraine receives American weapons, in order to force Kyiv to stop long-range strikes on Russian energy infrastructure. That is according to the Financial Times, citing European officials; the report was summarised by Ukrainska Pravda.

The officials said that on Saturday and Sunday (10–11 October) they received calls from US officials or were briefed on them. Washington is pressing both European capitals and Kyiv to end attacks on Russian oil refineries. According to the FT, the US message included threats to stop intelligence sharing and to suspend PURL — the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List, under which European allies buy American weapons for Ukraine.

“They’re calling Kyiv… they’re calling everyone [in Europe],” an official who received a call from a US Defense Department representative told the FT. The White House declined to confirm or comment on the calls.

“Nobody had heard” about the truce

The FT notes that on Sunday Trump surprised both Kyiv and the Europeans by announcing an “energy ceasefire” between Ukraine and Russia on social media. “Right now our repair crews are restoring electricity and water in Kyiv. Nobody had heard [about a ceasefire],” a senior official close to Zelensky told the paper right after Trump’s post.

Axios had earlier reported that the White House understands the truce primarily as a mutual halt to strikes on refineries. Zelensky said Ukraine was ready to refrain from hitting Russian energy if Russia stops attacking Ukraine’s.

Senators against the ‘diesel deal’

Meanwhile, criticism is growing in Congress over Trump’s decision to allow imports of Russian diesel. On Sunday seven senators from both parties — Jeanne Shaheen, Susan Collins, Richard Blumenthal, Lisa Murkowski, Ron Wyden, Thom Tillis and John Curtis — issued a joint statement.

“In 2022, Congress clearly banned imports of Russian energy to prevent American dollars from financing Putin’s brutal war against Ukraine,” the statement says. The senators argue that Trump’s decision “directly contradicts this law” and that the administration neither consulted Congress nor provided a justification as the law requires. “The United States should not be giving Putin a financial lifeline while Russia continues to kill Ukrainian civilians. The administration must reverse course immediately,” they said.

Background

On 9 October Trump announced an agreement with Putin to lift sanctions on Russian diesel; on 10 October he said it was “time for Ukraine to get a new president”; and on 11 October he announced the energy truce. According to Axios, he made the diesel decision after Kyiv repeatedly ignored US requests to stop attacking Russian refineries.

Why it matters

PURL has become one of the main channels for American weapons, including air defence systems that Europeans buy for Ukraine. Halting it or cutting off intelligence sharing on the eve of winter would be a serious blow to Ukraine’s defence — which is why the FT report is being watched closely in Kyiv and across Europe.