U.S. REPORTEDLY THREATENED UKRAINE’S MILITARY LEADERSHIP FOR STRIKING RUSSIA
The world must recognize this for what it is: the Trump administration reportedly called senior members of Ukraine’s military leadership and threatened the support Ukraine needs to defend its own country—all to pressure Kyiv into stopping attacks on Russian oil refineries.
According to Ukrainian officials who spoke with the Kyiv Independent, the American side contacted Mykhailo Drapatyi, commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, and Pavlo Palisa, deputy head of the Presidential Office responsible for military affairs.
“They called all the top military officials with threats,” one Ukrainian official said. “They’re telling everyone that they’re going to turn off both the intelligence sharing and PURL.”
PURL—the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List—is a NATO-managed system through which Ukraine’s European partners purchase urgently needed American weapons for Ukrainian forces. The reported threat therefore extends beyond withholding assistance funded by Washington: it could obstruct weapons that European allies are paying American manufacturers to provide.
This pressure followed Donald Trump’s announcement of an immediate “energy ceasefire”—an arrangement that reportedly surprised both Kyiv and Moscow. Washington then demanded that Ukraine stop striking Russian refineries, even as Russia continued attacking Ukrainian power plants, gas facilities, civilian infrastructure, and cities.
Ukraine’s position has been clear: it will respect a genuine energy ceasefire if Russia does the same. Ukraine’s own refining capacity has already been devastated by years of Russian attacks, while Russia possesses an extensive refinery network that supplies its military, earns export revenue, and sustains its war economy.
The imbalance could hardly be more glaring. Russia continues striking Ukraine’s energy system, yet Ukrainian commanders are reportedly being threatened with the loss of intelligence and weapons for attacking the infrastructure that fuels Russia’s invasion.
These threats have not yet been implemented, and the White House has refused to confirm or comment on the reported calls. But if these accounts are accurate, this is more than diplomatic pressure. It is the attempted coercion of an invaded country’s military leadership for defending its homeland.
It is despicable. It is a disgrace. And Washington cannot expect Ukraine or America’s allies to trust a United States government that threatens its partners while shielding the infrastructure sustaining Russia’s war.