Trump criticizes Zelenskyy as Ukraine resumes strikes on Russian refineries

US President Donald Trump called Ukraine’s renewed strikes on Russian oil refineries a “disgrace” and said President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was “more difficult to deal with than Putin,” as the Ukrainian leader sought support from European leaders in Brussels.

In an interview with Newsmax aired Thursday, Trump said the refinery strikes were driving up fuel costs. “All he’s doing is making the world oil price higher,” he said. “There are a lot of targets you can hit,” he added, but attacking diesel refineries was “not doing a good service for the world.”

“I’m not a big fan of Zelenskyy,” Trump said. “I think they actually both would like to see it end, but I think I find Zelenskyy to be more difficult to deal with than Putin.” He also said Zelenskyy “doesn’t want to settle,” despite saying otherwise.

Ukraine resumed attacks on Russian refineries after Zelenskyy said Moscow had not stopped striking Ukrainian energy targets. The BBC reported that Ukraine had paused its strikes for three days at Trump’s request. The Guardian reported that Trump had declared an energy ceasefire last week, though neither Russia nor Ukraine said it had agreed to one.

The dispute comes after the United States eased sanctions on Russia as part of a diesel arrangement. The BBC reported that Washington had announced a deal to import 300,000 tonnes of Russian diesel to help lower fuel prices. The Guardian described the agreement as an exchange for Russia releasing large amounts of diesel onto global markets. Zelenskyy criticized the move, calling it a gift to Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to the BBC.

Zelenskyy did not respond to Trump’s latest criticism when he arrived at an EU summit Friday. He said he was thankful for the EU’s “huge support” and wanted the war to end as quickly as possible, but said Ukraine saw no sign that Russia was ready to do so.

Standing with Zelenskyy, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU had supported Trump’s proposed energy ceasefire, “but we have seen that Russia did not respect it, not a single minute.” She promised a 22nd round of sanctions against Russia and said: “We will not lift any sanctions unless Russia stops the war.” European Council President António Costa said Ukraine could count on the EU for support during the war and on its path toward negotiating membership.

Attacks continued in Ukraine. A Russian drone strike in the northeastern city of Kharkiv killed several people and injured at least 14, the regional governor said, according to the BBC. Zelenskyy said a Russian strike on energy infrastructure in Lutsk caused blackouts, The Guardian reported. The Kremlin accused Ukraine of derailing US peace efforts by resuming refinery attacks.

The Guardian also reported that Ukraine said restrictions on Starlink service this week had disrupted drone operations and air defences. British Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said his US counterpart had assured him the satellite communications service had been restored, though the cause of the disruption remained unclear.