Donald Trump Accuses Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Prolonging War as US Intelligence Sharing Debate Continues
US President Donald Trump escalated his criticism of Ukrainian leadership, claiming on his social media platform Truth Social that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has never wanted to end the ongoing war with Russia.
Trump Defends Russian Policy on Truth Social
Defending his decision to temporarily withhold stricter sanctions against Moscow, Trump stated that he wants to keep the Kremlin at the negotiating table. He argued that imposing new penalties now would be a mistake that could unnecessarily drive Russia away from peace talks.
US President Donald Trump stated in a recent post on the social network Truth Social that he is defending his decision not to apply new restrictions against Russia, arguing that he does not want to drive Moscow away from peace talks. On Sunday evening, Trump published a broad post explaining his approach to Russia, emphasizing that significant progress is being made in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, though he claimed Zelenskyy does not care about that and that it is what he wants to keep and will ensure happens unless stupid people stand in the way. While Republican Senator Lindsey Graham’s previously passed congressional legislation includes provisions for new energy tariffs and restrictions, Trump’s current focus remains centered on securing a negotiated settlement, keeping sanctions unused in the legislation passed by the US Congress and signed by President Trump himself which aimed to exert pressure on Russia and prevent it from gaining revenue in the war against Ukraine.
Today, we had important talks with our American partners and with our other partners from Europe. Steve Witkoff was also here with us in Oslo, and Jared Kushner joined us online.Ukraine immediately supported American proposal for an energy ceasefire. But Russia responded by… pic.twitter.com/WEGon2JjHA
The US President directed sharp accusations toward Kyiv, specifically targeting Ukrainian military tactics against Russian infrastructure. Trump claimed that Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries producing diesel fuel are damaging global energy markets and hurting American farmers and businesses. He asserted that because Ukraine receives financial backing from European nations and funds from Joe Biden, Zelenskyy lacks the incentive to conclude the conflict, noting that Zelenskyy could have achieved a better deal two years ago than now, with his country in ruins, a large part of its territory lost, access to oceans and seas gone, and a depleted male population with many injured or dead.
Rubio disputes claims of intelligence sharing pause
Traveling in Uzbekistan, Rubio disputed claims of an interruption, asserting that intelligence data sharing was never actually stopped. Rubio emphasized that the primary objective for Washington and its partners remains steering both Kyiv and Moscow toward ending the hostilities, stating that US President Donald Trump wanted Zelenskyy and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to focus on stopping the war. Recent aerial attacks have continued to batter Ukrainian infrastructure, with Ukrainian air defenses intercepting large numbers of incoming drones and missiles even as diplomatic friction persists, specifically successfully shooting down four Iskander-K cruise missiles and 243 drones out of 269 launched against Ukraine, while the enemy succeeded in striking 25 locations and falling debris from intercepted drones and missiles hit objects in eight locations after Russia continued its strikes following a three-day pause during which Ukraine also resumed its attacks.
Questions on Trump and US intelligence sharing
Why did Donald Trump criticize Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries?
Trump claimed in his Truth Social posts that these military targets disrupt global diesel fuel markets and negatively impact American farmers and businesses that rely on stable energy pricing.
More on Truth Social
Trump: “Russia is a great power. Ukraine is not.”“Zelensky needs to want to end this war, and if he doesn’t, I think it will be very bad.The Russians continue to advance. They have unlimited manpower.We’ve given Ukraine enormous amounts of money. In return, all we’ve gotten… pic.twitter.com/rJjr67Twk6”
We have always had important, strong strategic relations with the United States of America. Our bilateral relationship began developing particularly actively during the full-scale war. I am grateful for all the support.But we have always built our relationship on honesty,…
Zelensky: US resumes intelligence sharing with Ukraine and ballistic missile alertsThe Ukrainian president discussed the issue with Marco Rubio today.They also discussed restoring stable Starlink operations and supplying Patriot missiles.Zelensky separately noted that… pic.twitter.com/PFrW6XF1lq
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