Donald Trump sharply criticized Volodymyr Zelensky after the Ukrainian president said Kyiv would resume strikes on Russian energy targets. Trump argued that attacks on Russian refineries could push global oil prices higher and accused Zelensky of making peace efforts more difficult.
The latest dispute followed conflicting accounts of an energy ceasefire Trump had announced days earlier. Zelensky claimed Russia had already violated the agreement, while White House sources described the deal more narrowly.
Trump calls Zelensky a ‘disgrace’ over Ukraine’s Russian refinery strikes
During a Thursday interview with Newsmax, Trump reacted to reports that Ukraine had resumed attacks on Russian oil infrastructure.
“If you tell me that Zelensky is again shooting at refineries, all he’s doing is making the world oil price higher,” Trump said. “I think that’s a disgrace. There’s plenty of other targets.”
Trump also called Zelensky “not a good guy for us to deal with.” He then drew a comparison between the Ukrainian leader and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“I think I find Zelensky to be more difficult to deal with than Putin,” Trump said.
The criticism came after Trump announced that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to avoid strikes on each other’s energy sites. Zelensky later claimed Ukraine had honored the agreement while Russia carried out more than 100 attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
“The block is out,” Zelensky told the Financial Times. “We’re done.”
As per New York Post, officials in Russia’s Ryazan region subsequently reported Ukrainian drone strikes on a state oil company building.
However, the two sides disputed what the Ukraine energy ceasefire actually covered. White House sources claimed Putin understood the deal as applying only to oil refineries. According to those sources, the agreement did not cover power plants, which Russia continued to attack.
That disagreement deepened tensions between Trump and Zelensky. Zelensky accused Moscow of breaking the ceasefire first, while U.S. officials suggested Kyiv had interpreted the agreement too broadly.
The dispute also followed Zelensky’s criticism of Trump’s planned purchase of more than 2.25 million barrels of Russian diesel. Zelensky compared that agreement to a “happy birthday present” for Putin.
Despite the growing friction, Trump maintained that his administration still wanted to end the war. Zelensky also said Ukraine wanted peace but argued that Russia had shown no clear willingness to stop fighting.
