Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s anger with the Trump administration burst into view Thursday when he said he would no longer abide by President Donald Trump’s demand to stop striking Russian oil refineries. It was a remarkably vocal expression by the Ukrainian leader of frustration with the United States, as Ukraine grapples with what it sees as a betrayal by Washington.

Zelenskyy’s remarks, in an interview with The Financial Times published Thursday, brought to a head days of mounting tensions with the Trump administration. It drew expressions of support from European allies in Brussels, but could be a risky move for a country that has depended heavily on U.S. support.

How Can Trump Be Friends With Putin?

In the interview, Zelenskyy appeared baffled by Trump’s decisions, criticizing him for making deals with President Vladimir Putin of Russia, and for openly admiring dictators who have clung to power. Putin, the Ukrainian leader said, is “real evil.”

“How can Trump be friends with him?” Zelenskyy added. “I think it’s a mistake.”

The Trump administration has long blown hot and cold when it comes to Ukraine. But a new round of frictions emerged last week, when Trump said he had reached an agreement to immediately import Russian diesel fuel to the U.S. market. Ukraine panned the move, saying it would help fund Moscow’s war effort.

Trump upped the ante Sunday, unilaterally declaring an energy ceasefire between the two warring sides and calling for Zelenskyy to be replaced. While Ukraine shrugged that idea off, it stopped striking Russian refineries. But Zelenskyy’s public expressions of frustration became more pointed amid concerns that Washington might cut off intelligence sharing that helps Ukraine detect Russian attacks.

Then Ukraine said Wednesday that its forces had lost some critical access to a military-grade version of Starlink, a pillar of its battlefield communications that the Pentagon pays for.

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Russian Oil Refinery Hit by Drone

Zelenskyy now appears to have had enough.

“That’s it. The block is out,” Zelenskyy said when asked by The Financial Times how much longer Ukraine would maintain the pause on targeting refineries. He did not say what had tipped his decision or when the strikes would resume.

On Thursday, Pavel Malkov, the governor of Ryazan, a Russian region southeast of Moscow, said on social media that a fire had broken out at an oil refinery after a drone strike overnight. Those details could not be independently confirmed.

Questions about U.S. support for Ukraine in the war against Russia grew after a meeting this month between Ukrainian officials and top U.S. negotiators in which some present thought the Americans made a veiled threat about curbing intelligence sharing.

U.S. officials said this week that Washington had not cut back on intelligence sharing with Ukraine, and denied any threat to withhold such support.

But Zelenskyy said in his interview that U.S. military officials had threatened to withhold intelligence if Ukraine did not stop attacking Russian energy infrastructure. He also reiterated that Ukraine had not received advance warning about Russian ballistic missile launches this week, including overnight Wednesday.

600,000 People in Kyiv Are Without Power

Russia launched dozens of ballistic missiles in that assault, hitting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and leaving 600,000 people in Kyiv without power. Reports that the use of the military version of Starlink had been restricted for devices traveling faster than 100 mph came later that day.

The restrictions were seen in Ukraine as a way to limit the fighting ability of Ukraine’s forces — part of the Trump administration’s broader pressure campaign. Trump has pushed Ukraine to stop attacking Russia’s oil refineries so Moscow can send more diesel to global markets, as high prices threaten the Republican Party’s prospects in the midterm elections.

Zelenskyy has acknowledged that he felt betrayed by those moves. He told Piers Morgan, the British TV host, in an interview Wednesday that it was “a pity that we are losing a strong partner” and that “this is not the right side of history.”

His remarks to The Financial Times — in which he also questioned how Washington could seek business deals at a time when people are “surviving, fighting, dying” — went further. They were published hours before Zelenskyy arrived in Brussels, where European leaders mostly expressed support for his decision to resume attacks on Russian refineries.

‘Ridiculous Diesel Deal’

“The faster all the Russian refineries and ability to sell energy will be blown to smithereens the better, because Russia is funding the war with that,” Prime Minister Kristen Michal of Estonia told reporters.

That backing, however, wasn’t unanimous. “I don’t support strikes on any refineries,” Prime Minister Rumen Radev of Bulgaria told reporters.

With the exception of Radev, many also criticized the Trump administration’s decision to lift sanctions on Russian diesel.

“This ridiculous diesel deal won’t do anything at all for prices on the world market,” said Rob Jetten, the prime minister of the Netherlands. “It does, however, fill Putin’s war chest, so it’s really a very bad choice on Trump’s part, and he’d be better off abandoning it.”

There was no immediate response from the White House to the remarks by Zelenskyy. In the meantime, officials from Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said they were working to verify whether Starshield’s connectivity for devices in motion had been restored. Ukraine’s Embassy in Washington, though, said services had resumed.

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
By Cassandra Vinograd and Francesca Regalado/Mauricio Lima
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