'I'm not a big fan of Zelensky,' Trump says as US-Ukraine tensions deepen
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U.S. President Donald Trump criticized President Volodymyr Zelensky in an interview with Newsmax published on Oct. 15, describing the Ukrainian president as "not a good guy for (the U.S.) to deal with."
"Zelensky's not a good guy for us to deal with," Trump said, claiming that the Ukrainian president does not want to help bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine war.
"He says he wants to settle, but he doesn't. I'm not a big fan of Zelensky. They've destroyed that country," the U.S. president said, criticizing the Obama and Biden administrations for their handling of the war, including the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea.
Trump's comments came in response to a question on whether Trump asked Zelensky to halt Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries. Earlier in the day on Oct. 15, Zelensky lifted restrictions on Ukraine's strikes against Russian oil refineries after Russia continued to strike Ukraine's energy infrastructure over the past days.
The latest comments from Trump come amid deepening tensions between the two leaders.
The Ukraine-U.S. relations hit a low point after Trump blamed Ukrainian strikes against Russian refineries for the rising global fuel prices — a claim disputed by experts — and his team threatened to cut off intelligence support and arms shipments unless Kyiv halts the attacks.
Washington then unexpectedly unveiled a deal allowing Moscow to export diesel fuel to the U.S. and other markets despite sanctions imposed due to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
A few days later, on Oct. 11, Trump unilaterally announced an energy truce between Russia and Ukraine, taking Ukrainian officials by surprise.
Even as Kyiv backed the truce and said it had paused its strikes against Russian refineries since the announcement, Moscow has continued attacking the Ukrainian power grid, meeting no criticism from Trump.
"I think Trump's advisers are wrong. I don't know who is pushing him to the wrong side," Zelensky said.
When asked whether he felt betrayed by Trump, the Ukrainian leader answered: "Really, yes... but it's a little bit more complicated than just my emotions or my feelings."
Ukraine's president has not yet responded to Trump's latest comments.
The latest rift follows months of repeatedly failed attempts to negotiate a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. Amid yet another halt in negotiations, Russia continues to pummel Ukrainian energy infrastructure ahead of the upcoming winter months.
