ZELENSKYY DEFIES TRUMP: Ukraine Won't Stop Refinery Strikes Despite US Pressure...

Trump's return to office has coincided with renewed diplomatic pressure to end the Ukraine war, but the conflict's trajectory remains volatile. Ukraine's strategy of targeting Russian energy infrastructure—a tactic designed to degrade Moscow's military capacity—reflects Kyiv's skepticism about any negotiated settlement that doesn't secure territorial gains or security guarantees. The tension between Trump's stated goal of rapid peace and Ukraine's continued military operations exposes a fundamental divide: negotiations require both parties to want the same outcome, and Ukraine's leadership has shown little appetite for ceding ground. Whether Trump can reconcile his dealmaking ambitions with the military realities on the ground will determine whether this war ends through negotiation or exhaustion.