Trump's accusation on Truth Social

On Sunday, 18 October 2026, Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that Volodymyr Zelensky does not want to end the war with Russia and probably never did. He said the Ukrainian president could have secured a better agreement two years ago than he can get now, and claimed that he himself is working to negotiate peace between the two countries. The post came after a new flare-up between Washington and Kyiv over the sanctions decision and a deal for Russian diesel.

Trump also accused Zelensky of targeting Russian diesel refineries while knowing the strikes seriously harm global diesel markets, including in the United States. He said farmers, ranchers and businesses of all kinds are suffering, while Russia keeps sending millions of barrels of diesel abroad at a low price. He tied Zelensky's stance to money from Europe and to funding that Joe Biden provided earlier, and he described Ukraine as a country in ruins that has lost a large part of its territory.

Trump's case for holding back sanctions

Trump defended a decision taken on Friday evening, 16 October, to freeze new sanctions against Russia under the Graham Act. He argued that signing the bill now would push Moscow away from the negotiating table. He pointed to talks on the exchange of prisoners and hostages as evidence of progress, and said Russia is doing little, if anything, to help Iran compared with what it could do.

The reports do not give a date for the next round of talks or name any agreement that has been reached.

Zelensky's reply from Kyiv

In Kyiv, Zelensky presented an opposite account and said Trump wants Ukraine to surrender to Russia. In an interview with Bloomberg, he said steps had been taken to persuade Ukraine to capitulate, and he pointed to a sequence of decisions by Washington in recent days: an arrangement with Vladimir Putin to supply Russian diesel to the United States, followed by the decision to exempt Russia from new sanctions. His reading of those steps stands against Trump's description of them as moves toward peace.

Zelensky said in his daily address that he spoke on Sunday with the US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, and that Ukrainian and American teams are in contact every day. He said Kyiv keeps its partners informed about Russian strikes and air defence needs, adding that much depends on the American position. According to LaSexta, he noted that the United States is sending fewer Patriot missiles than before and proposed halting strikes on Russian refineries if weapons deliveries speed up.