Trump Criticizes Zelensky Over Energy Cease-Fire After Ukraine Ends Deal
The former president called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky 'more difficult to deal with than Putin' after Kyiv broke an agreement to not strike energy targets.
Former President Donald Trump sharply criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a television interview Thursday, calling him "more difficult to deal with than Putin" after Zelensky announced Ukraine was "done" with an energy cease-fire.
Trump told Newsmax host Rob Finnerty that Zelensky striking Russian energy sites was "a disgrace." "If you tell me that Zelensky is again shooting at refineries, all he’s doing is making the world oil price higher," Trump said. "There’s plenty of other targets."
Trump's remarks come after Zelensky stated on Thursday that Ukraine had unilaterally honored an agreement to refrain from striking Russian energy infrastructure, while Moscow had continued to attack Ukrainian energy sites. "The block is out. We’re done," Zelensky told the Financial Times while visiting London.
Trump had previously announced on Sunday that both Moscow and Kyiv had agreed to hold off on striking each other's power sources as winter approached. Zelensky's statement implies Ukraine has ceased adhering to this arrangement.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitriy Peskov echoed some of Trump's sentiment, agreeing that "Zelensky doesn’t want to take responsibility and move toward a peaceful resolution."
In Brussels, Zelensky insisted that Ukraine "want[s] to end this war as (quickly) as possible." However, he added, "We don’t see now signals from Russian side that they are ready for this, to end this war. That’s why we have to prepare for the winter."
During his visit to London, Zelensky attended a summit of European heads of government, whom he praised as "real leaders."
Meanwhile, Russian strikes were reported in nine separate regions of Ukraine on Friday, resulting in at least 15 injuries and leaving hundreds of thousands of households without power. Russia's Defense Ministry also claimed that its air defenses intercepted 644 Ukrainian drones overnight over various regions, Crimea, and the Black Sea.