diff --git a/internal/controller/helmrelease_controller.go b/internal/controller/helmrelease_controller.go
index afd58a6a2..fa96e5cac 100644
--- a/internal/controller/helmrelease_controller.go
+++ b/internal/controller/helmrelease_controller.go
@@ -715,7 +715,7 @@ func (r *HelmReleaseReconciler) handleHelmActionResult(ctx context.Context,
 		err = fmt.Errorf("Helm %s failed: %w", action, err)
 		msg := err.Error()
 		if actionErr := (*runner.ActionError)(nil); errors.As(err, &actionErr) {
-			msg = msg + "\n\nLast Helm logs:\n\n" + actionErr.CapturedLogs
+			msg = strings.TrimSpace(msg) + "\n\nLast Helm logs:\n\n" + actionErr.CapturedLogs
 		}
 		newCondition := metav1.Condition{
 			Type:    condition,
diff --git a/internal/runner/runner.go b/internal/runner/runner.go
index be0bd355a..0488054f1 100644
--- a/internal/runner/runner.go
+++ b/internal/runner/runner.go
@@ -78,13 +78,22 @@ func NewRunner(getter genericclioptions.RESTClientGetter, storageNamespace strin
 	runner := &Runner{
 		logBuffer: NewLogBuffer(NewDebugLog(logger.V(runtimelogger.DebugLevel)), defaultBufferSize),
 	}
+
+	// Default to the trace level logger for the Helm action configuration,
+	// to ensure storage logs are captured.
 	cfg := new(action.Configuration)
 	if err := cfg.Init(getter, storageNamespace, "secret", NewDebugLog(logger.V(runtimelogger.TraceLevel))); err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
-	// Override the logger used by the Helm actions with the log buffer.
+
+	// Override the logger used by the Helm actions and Kube client with the log buffer,
+	// which provides useful information in the event of an error.
 	cfg.Log = runner.logBuffer.Log
+	if kc, ok := cfg.KubeClient.(*kube.Client); ok {
+		kc.Log = runner.logBuffer.Log
+	}
 	runner.config = cfg
+
 	return runner, nil
 }