US President Donald Trump has renewed his sharp criticism of Volodymyr Zelensky, saying the Ukrainian leader is “more difficult to deal with than [Russian President Vladimir] Putin”.
Trump, who recently made a controversial deal with Moscow to import its diesel to the American market, called Ukraine’s fresh wave of strikes on Russian oil refineries a “disgrace”.
Zelensky had paused the attacks for three days at Trump’s request for a ceasefire on energy targets, but said on Thursday they would resume because Moscow had never stopped.
Tensions between Washington and Kyiv have escalated recently over the US-Russia diesel deal and restrictions on Ukraine’s satellite communications on the battlefield.
Zelensky has not commented on Trump’s latest criticism, however thanked “real leaders” for their support as he arrived at an EU summit in Brussels on Friday.
He was flanked by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa.
“Of course we supported President Trump’s energy ceasefire but we’ve seen that Russia did not respect it, not a single minute,” Von der Leyen told reporters, adding that sanctions on Russia “have to increase”.
Moscow said it had never agreed to the energy ceasefire that Trump suddenly announced last week.
Costa did not mention the US, but said that “this is no time to withdraw support” to the country and “no time to relieve Russian sanctions”, as the US has done in agreeing to the deal with Russia to import 3,00,000 tonnes of its diesel.
The summit’s agenda focuses on funding for Ukraine and helping it get through another cold winter – the fifth since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
“Russia is trying everything to destroy the energy and water infrastructure,” Von der Leyen told Zelensky before the summit began, “but we stand by your side, we support you as we did in the other winters.”
Zelensky said his country wants the war to end “as quick as possible”, but added that Russia is not showing signs that it wants the same thing.
“That’s why we have to prepare for the winter. A winter package is not only energy, it’s also defence and funding,” he said.
Deadly attacks on Ukraine continued overnight, with several people killed in a Russian drone strike in the north-eastern city of Kharkiv, while some 270,000 households were without power after strikes in the western Volyn region, the local governors said.
Trump’s comments about Zelensky, during an interview with US outlet Newsmax on Thursday evening, reflect the deteriorating relationship between the US and Ukraine.
The US president said he is “not a big fan of Zelensky” and that he is “not a good guy for us to deal with.
“He doesn’t want to settle. He says he wants to settle, but he doesn’t,” Trump said.
“As you know, Putin hates Zelensky, and Zelensky hates Putin,” he added. “And when you have that kind of hatred, it’s very hard to get something settled.”
When asked about Ukraine’s renewed strikes on Russian oil refineries, Trump said it was “a disgrace”.
“All he’s doing is making the world oil price higher… There are a lot of targets that you can hit.”
Trump is frustrated at Ukraine’s continued targeting of Russian oil refineries because it affects Moscow’s ability to export its diesel to America, as per the deal the US recently made with Russia, in an effort to bring down fuel prices.
Since the war with Iran started in February, US fuel and especially diesel prices have skyrocketed, souring Trump standing with the American public – something he wants to fix before next month’s mid-term elections.
The diesel deal infuriated Zelensky, who called it a gift to Putin and an “investment in a war that must be ended, not prolonged.”
