Trump says Zelensky is hard to deal with as Russian diesel deal draws criticism
Donald Trump said in a Newsmax interview that dealing with Volodymyr Zelensky is harder than dealing with Vladimir Putin, and that any deal with Russia would not be with him. The remarks come as Washington's Russian diesel arrangement draws criticism from Italy and Finland, and as CNN reports Ukraine has run out of Patriot interceptors.
Trump's remarks on Zelensky
Donald Trump told the Newsmax channel that he is not a great admirer of Volodymyr Zelensky and that negotiating with the Ukrainian president is harder than dealing with Vladimir Putin. He said that if Ukraine and Russia reach any agreement to end the war, it will not be with Zelensky. Trump accused Ukraine's government of having wrecked the country. He also said Zelensky claims to want a deal but does not act on it, and that Putin and Zelensky hate each other, which makes an agreement very hard to reach. Trump added that the war should end soon because both sides would like it to, and that he believes Ukraine needs elections, arguing that nobody had told him Ukrainians were happy to see missiles falling on their apartment blocks.
Trump also criticised Kyiv's renewed strikes on Russian oil refineries, calling them a disgrace and arguing that they push up world oil prices. He said there are many other targets Ukraine could hit instead.
The diesel deal
The dispute grows out of a deal Trump announced on Friday, 9 October, under which Washington eased sanctions on Russian diesel so Moscow can resume selling it on international markets. Europa Press reports that the move also allows Russian diesel to be sold in the United States. Giorgia Meloni told the Senate on Wednesday, 14 October, ahead of the European Council, that the deal is very risky. In her view it legitimises Moscow while its bombs keep falling on Ukrainian cities, generates revenue for the war and weakens sanctions. She argued that the surge in fuel prices stems mainly from the war in Iran rather than the conflict in Ukraine. A Russian foreign ministry spokesperson replied that the deal was none of Meloni's business.
On Thursday, 15 October, a White House spokesperson, Taylor Rogers, responded that Trump had negotiated another successful agreement to supply the global market and lower prices. Rogers said lowering prices for farmers, truckers and American families remained a priority, and urged both sides to stop attacking refineries. Finnish prime minister Petteri Orpo told Politico the decision makes no logic, since Russia is the greatest threat to NATO, of which both countries are members.
Ukraine's air defence
CNN, citing a source familiar with the situation, reported that Ukraine has run out of Patriot interceptor missiles, leaving it more exposed to Russian ballistic missiles. Zelensky had warned for months that stocks of the US-made interceptors were running down. The source told CNN that nearly all ballistic missiles in the latest attack went unintercepted.
Zelensky wrote on X that Russia had ignored Trump's proposal for an energy truce and was exploiting problems with Starlink to inflict the greatest possible damage on everyday services. He said he felt betrayed by the arrangement Trump reached with Putin and that Ukraine would keep hitting Russian refineries. Emmanuel Macron pledged on X, after meeting Zelensky, that France and its allies would supply Ukraine with all the means needed to defend itself and protect infrastructure and civilians. Zelensky thanked Meloni on Wednesday for her stance:
I thank Giorgia Meloni for her support and for her clear, unequivocal, and principled stance.
European Council
The European Council meets on Thursday, 15 October and Friday, 16 October. Zelensky is due to attend, and the Ukrainian dossier is set to be central to the second day of talks. The timeline below sets the diesel deal, the Italian and Finnish criticism, the White House reply and the Patriot report in sequence.
- Trump announces the Russian diesel deal, which eases sanctions
- Meloni tells the Senate the deal is very risky
- White House calls the deal a successful agreement to lower prices
- CNN reports Ukraine has run out of Patriot interceptors
- Second day of the European Council, with Ukraine on the agenda and Zelensky attending
