Zelenskyy risks rupture with Trump as midterms pressure mounts
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a news conference in Kyiv on Oct. 4. | Bloomberg
Oct 12, 2026
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is on a collision course with U.S. President Donald Trump, who is increasingly looking at Kyiv’s battle against Russia primarily through the lens of energy prices ahead of U.S. midterm elections.
Trump sprang an announcement of an “energy ceasefire” between Russia and Ukraine on Zelenskyy, as the U.S. leader pushes for him to stop bombing Russian oil refineries and defends a controversial deal with Vladimir Putin on diesel exports.
After Trump posted on social media about the ceasefire, Zelenskyy said he was willing to accept it, but only if Russia does too — his long-standing position — making clear his significant doubts about that prospect.
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