Trump calls Ukraine's strikes on Russian oil refineries a 'disgrace'

US president Donald Trump has called Ukraine's renewed strikes on Russian oil refineries a "disgrace" and repeated his criticism of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, after an energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine collapsed.

Speaking to the Newsmax news outlet in an interview aired on Thursday, Trump said: "All he's doing is making the world oil price higher. Well, I think that's a disgrace." He added that there were "a lot of targets you can hit", but that striking diesel refineries was not "a good service for the world" because "we need that, and the world needs that".

Ukraine resumed the strikes after Zelenskyy said Kyiv was abandoning a ceasefire that Trump abruptly declared last week and that neither Russia nor Ukraine said they had agreed to.

Relations between Kyiv and Washington have soured since Trump eased sanctions on Russia in exchange for Moscow releasing large amounts of diesel on to global markets. Zelenskyy criticised the agreement, which was widely interpreted as an attempt to curb high fuel prices ahead of the US midterm election, saying it would allow Russia to press on with its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began more than four and a half years ago. US efforts under Trump to end the war have made no progress.

Trump repeats criticism of Zelenskyy

Trump restated his views of the two leaders involved. "I'm not a big fan of Zelenskyy," he said. "I think they actually both would like to see it end, but I think I find Zelenskyy to be more difficult to deal with than Putin."

Kyiv's relationship with Washington was strained further this week when Ukraine said Starlink services had been restricted, in effect hobbling Ukrainian drone strike missions and crucial air defences "with a flick of the switch". During a visit to London, the Ukrainian president said the sudden restriction of Starlink had left him feeling personally betrayed by Trump and lamented losing a partner.

British defence secretary Wes Streeting said on Thursday his US counterpart, Pete Hegseth, had assured him in a face-to-face meeting that the vital satellite communications system had been restored. In an interview with the BBC, he said it was unclear what had caused the disruption, but added: "This is not the first time we've seen a falling out between Washington and Kyiv."

European leaders rally behind Zelenskyy

Amid growing doubts about long-term US commitment to Ukraine, European leaders have shown their support for Zelenskyy, who met Nato chief Mark Rutte in Brussels and held a string of bilateral meetings before he was set to join an EU summit on Friday.

After meeting Zelenskyy, French president Emmanuel Macron said it was "crucial" that Ukraine receive "all the means necessary to protect itself". Polish prime minister Donald Tusk posted online: "I can reassure you, dear Ukrainian friends and President Zelenskyy: YOU ARE NOT ALONE."

As he met Macron in Brussels, Zelensky said the Kremlin had "launched yet another vile drone strike on Ukrainian energy infrastructure" in the city of Lutsk, which caused blackouts. The Kremlin meanwhile accused Ukraine of derailing US peace efforts by resuming its strikes on refineries.

Source: The Guardian.