President Donald Trump said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was harder to deal with than Vladimir Putin, escalating a dispute over Russian energy supplies as Kyiv resumes refinery attacks and faces a reported shortage of missiles needed to defend against Moscow's strikes.
In a Newsmax interview Thursday evening, Trump criticized Ukraine's decision to abandon a pause in attacks on Russian energy infrastructure. Zelenskyy has said Moscow continued bombing Ukrainian energy facilities despite the ceasefire Trump announced last Sunday.
"All he's doing is making the world oil price higher. Well, I think that's a disgrace," Trump said, describing himself as "not a big fan of Zelenskyy."
Trump argued that Ukraine should choose other military targets instead of facilities producing fuel needed internationally. He called Zelenskyy "not a good guy for us to deal with" and said the Ukrainian leader was more difficult to negotiate with than Russia's president.
The disagreement has widened since Trump announced last week that Washington would ease sanctions on Russian diesel imports. The decision surprised Ukrainian and European leaders, while Zelenskyy warned that additional energy revenue would help Moscow sustain its invasion.
Asked by British interviewer Piers Morgan on Wednesday whether he felt "betrayed by what was happening," Zelenskyy answered, "really, yes." He nevertheless emphasized that preserving American support took precedence over his personal reaction.
"Our country has to survive, and we count on our real partners, strategic partners, the United States and President Trump," Zelenskyy told Morgan.
By Friday, Zelenskyy was praising European allies gathering for a summit in Brussels as "real leaders," a description that appeared to contrast with his increasingly strained dealings with Washington.
Ukraine had suspended attacks on Russian energy facilities for three days at the U.S. administration's request. Zelenskyy said the pause would end because Russia had failed to reciprocate, continuing its own strikes on Ukraine's energy system.
On Thursday, Ryazan Governor Pavel Malkov said a major Ukrainian drone attack had hit the region's oil refinery. It was the first reported Ukrainian strike on Russian energy infrastructure since Trump announced the truce.
The diplomatic confrontation coincides with mounting pressure on Ukraine's air defenses. CNN reported that Kyiv had exhausted its Patriot missile supplies, citing information about an interceptor shortage that left the country exposed during a recent Russian attack.
"Almost all the ballistic missiles from the last strike were not intercepted due to lack of the (interceptor) missiles," a source familiar with the situation told CNN.
Zelenskyy had repeatedly warned allies that Ukraine needed additional interceptors. In August, he described extensive efforts to obtain more supplies, underscoring how dependent the country's defenses remain on continued deliveries.
Another dispute concerns restrictions on Ukraine's use of the Starshield satellite system for wartime operations. Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that the direction to slow the service originated inside the White House.
According to that account, Defense Department leaders received a message instructing them to reduce the system's performance. The people cited did not identify who made the decision or who conveyed the instruction.
