Ukraine Warupdated 2h ago2 min read
Trump Accuses Zelenskiy Of Not Wanting To End War With Russia
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Trump accuses Zelenskiy of not wanting to end the war with Russia. He defended waiving some Russia sanctions and easing pressure on Moscow.
Trump, Zelenskiy trade barbs
U.S. President Donald Trump renewed his accusation that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy does not want to end the war with Russia, even as Zelenskiy held talks with U.S. envoys Steve Wietkoff and Jared Kushner.
Trump said on his Truth Social platform that he seeks to negotiate to end the war and does not want to take any step that would push Moscow to withdraw from negotiations, while Zelenskiy accused him of “not caring.”
Zelenskiy announced that he discussed arming Ukraine with American air defense systems Patriot with Wietkoff and Kushner, and he expressed gratitude for Washington resuming intelligence-sharing with Kyiv after a halt that left his country more vulnerable to Russian ballistic missiles.
The dispute unfolded as mutual strikes on energy facilities intensified, with a wide drone attack on Saint Petersburg and Russian strikes causing casualties and power outages in Ukrainian regions.
Energy strikes, drone counts
Russia’s strikes on power facilities in Ukraine led Zelenskiy to announce at least two deaths and 12 injuries, including two children, across Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskyi, and Odesa regions. On the Russian side, Governor Alexander Beglov reported one dead and five injured after drones targeted a fuel facility near Saint Petersburg, and he said the attack damaged about 12 residential buildings and two houses.
The Russian news agency TASS said Saint Petersburg and its surroundings experienced the largest Ukrainian drone attack since the war began in 2022, while the governor of Leningrad Oblast, Alexander Drozdenko, said 145 drones were shot down overnight. The Russian Defense Ministry said it shot down 1015 Ukrainian drones over about 15 regions, and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the attack as a “manifestation of dying,” stressing that it would not alter the course of events.
Sanctions, diesel deal, stakes
Trump defended his decision to waive sweeping new Russia-related sanctions and lift sanctions on Russian diesel, after he signed an executive order late on Friday to suspend sanctions and tariffs targeting Russian oil revenues. Trump also said on his Truth Social platform that he was working towards a peace agreement and had made "great progress," while he wrote that “Zelensky doesn't care, and frankly, with all of the money that Europe is famously giving him... he doesn't want to end this war.”
Zelenskiy accused Trump in an interview with Bloomberg of trying to force Kyiv to surrender to Russia, and Zelenskiy said “We now face dangerous days before the elections” ahead of the U.S. midterm elections on November 3. The Economist warned that Zelenskiy’s public criticisms of Trump could exacerbate military pressure on Kyiv and threaten the future of the partnership with Washington, given that Ukrainian forces rely on American military and intelligence technologies.