Politics

Zelenskyy Would Halt Strikes On Russian Energy For US Targeting Help, GOP Senator Says

The Presidential Office of Ukraine/Wikimedia Commons

Republican North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer claimed Sunday that Ukraine would stop striking Russian energy sites in exchange for targeting help by the U.S.

Cramer told CBS News host Margaret Brennan on “Face the Nation” that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “was enthusiastic” about the proposal, which Cramer brought to him during a recent trip to Ukraine. Ukraine resumed hitting Russian oil refineries Thursday after a brief pause President Donald Trump had demanded while pushing to lower diesel prices.

“When you were in Ukraine, as I understand it, you were presenting a proposal to President Zelenskyy to allow for Starshield access expansion if Ukraine stops striking Russian energy assets. What can you tell us about that proposal and what is the status of it?” Brennan asked.

Brennan had noted Ukraine uses Starshield — a secured satellite network by a division of Elon Musk’s SpaceX for government entities — to strike Russian-held territory. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, however, said Saturday night that his understanding was Ukraine had lost access to the technology.

“You’re right, that was a proposal we brought to President Zelenskyy. [Republican Mississippi] Senator Roger Wicker, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, came up with that idea,” Cramer said. “President Zelenskyy was enthusiastic about it. He said, ‘I’d do that tomorrow.'”

Cramer then said Zelenskyy would halt strikes on Russian energy sites in exchange for the targeting capabilities Starshield provides “to go deep into Russia and attack their attackers. In other words, their launch facilities. And, you know, kill the archer, not the arrows.” He said Zelenskyy also asked for a license to co-produce Patriot missile interceptors.

“So his requests were three, they were simple, and I agree with all three of them,” Cramer said.

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“Russia has chosen to go after civilian populations, while President Zelenskyy has simply gone after, you know, the launchers and, more importantly, these— you know, the war machine’s funding source, which is energy,” he added.

Brennan then noted that Ukraine had resumed hitting Russian oil refineries overnight, while Russia has targeted energy infrastructure inside Ukraine, and asked who in the Trump administration was trying to bring the war to a close.

Cramer said he had not spoken with Rubio about his exchange with Zelenskyy and that Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are also involved. The senator then admitted he worries about “a disconnect,” such as “traditional, mutually beneficial negotiations between business people and the difference between somebody protecting humanity itself versus somebody who wants to take humanity down.”

“But at the end of the day, I think the president is, you know, he’s— it’s where the buck stops, and I think he accepts that,” he stated.

Asked whether Sen. Wicker was presenting the deal to the White House, Cramer responded, “Oh, yes. Yes. Yes, for sure. I mean we had talked to people in the White House, at the Department of War, and to the State Department, even prior to meeting with President Zelenskyy.”

Earlier in the interview, Cramer said that, while he shares the positions of Republican colleagues who criticized Trump’s waiver of Russia sanctions, he notes the cost of diesel fuel is “really an important issue here in North Dakota.” Cramer also said European allies “have been buying energy from Vladimir Putin and funding his war machine for decades. And they should stop right now,” before stating he expects the waiver to be “a short-term pause.”

Trump signed an executive order Friday waiving sanctions for buyers of Russian energy as well as tariffs required under the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, which he signed into law Sept. 18.