US President Donald Trump said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was “not a good guy for us to deal with” and criticised Ukraine’s renewed strikes on Russian oil refineries, calling them a “disgrace” in an interview on Thursday.
Trump made the remarks during an interview with Newsmax’s Rob Finnerty as Ukraine resumed strikes on Russian energy targets, arguing that Moscow’s attacks on energy infrastructure had never stopped.
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Trump on Zelensky
Deep Dive
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“I thought you asked President Zelensky not to do that,” Finnerty said.
“I did,” Trump replied. “Zelensky is not a good guy for us to deal with.”
Asked whether he had lost faith in Zelensky, Trump said he believed the war would eventually end in a settlement but claimed the Ukrainian president was unwilling to reach an agreement.
“I think they’re gonna end up with a settlement of some kind,” Trump said. “They’re not gonna do it with him. He doesn’t wanna settle. He says he wants to settle, but he doesn’t. No, I’m not a big fan of Zelensky. They’ve destroyed that country.”
Trump also partly blamed former US president Barack Obama for the war, referring to Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea, which took place during Obama’s presidency.
{{/usCountry}}Trump also partly blamed former US president Barack Obama for the war, referring to Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea, which took place during Obama’s presidency.
{{/usCountry}}“If the US election weren’t rigged,” Trump claimed, “that war would have never happened. That’s the saddest part… Ukraine has lost so many of its men, and Russia, too, but Russia’s a massive country.”
Asked whether the war would end before he left office, Trump said it should conclude soon, adding that he found Zelensky more difficult to deal with than Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“It should end soon,” Trump said. “I think they actually both would like to see it end, but I find Zelensky to be more difficult to deal with than Putin.”
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Zelensky criticises Trump's approach to Russia
During an interview with Piers Morgan on Wednesday, Zelensky said he felt “betrayed” by Trump’s diesel deal with Putin. He also described it as a “pity” to be losing a “strong partner” in the US and said doing business with the Russian president was not the “right side of history”.
Amid strained ties with Trump, Zelensky met NATO chief Mark Rutte in Brussels and held a series of bilateral meetings with European leaders ahead of his scheduled participation in an EU summit on Friday.
The Ukrainian president had earlier told the Financial Times that the pause in strikes against Russian oil refineries was “done”, arguing that Moscow was not adhering to a ceasefire on attacks against energy infrastructure announced by Trump.