Trump rebukes Zelensky, calls Ukraine’s strikes on Russian refineries a ‘disgrace’

Ukraine’s resumption of strikes on Russian refineries is ⁠a “disgrace” that keeps ⁠global energy prices elevated, US President ⁠Donald Trump told the Newsmax news outlet in an interview aired on Thursday.

Ukraine struck a Russian oil refinery after President Volodymyr Zelensky declared that Kyiv was abandoning a ceasefire covering energy sites that Trump had announced, ‌and criticised his willingness to strike deals with Moscow.

“All he’s doing is making the world oil price higher. Well, I think that’s a disgrace,” Trump said in the interview, after Ukraine hit a Rosneft refinery southeast of Moscow which helps to supply the Russian capital.

“There are a lot of targets you can ⁠hit, but when you shoot at diesel refineries where you make, you know, diesel oil, ‌and we need that, and the world needs that, then he’s not doing a good service for the world.”

Russia rained down missile ‌and drone strikes, targeting energy facilities such as power stations, knocking out supply ⁠to hundreds of thousands, ⁠and Zelensky told the Financial Times that Ukraine’s patience had run out.

Trump’s administration has been trying to ‌mediate a ceasefire deal to end the war that started with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

He repeated ‌to Newsmax ‌his belief that Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin hate each other, which ‌makes it hard to end the conflict.

“I’m not a big fan of Zelensky,” Trump ⁠said. “I think they actually both would like to see it end, but I think I ⁠find Zelensky to be more difficult to deal with than Putin.”

As Trump pressured Kyiv to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries, Ukraine faced reduced usage ‌of a satellite system ‌on which it relies for battlefield communications and drone operations.

The order came from inside the White House, said two US officials and a Western official briefed on the matter, without specifying who there made the decision or was responsible for implementing the order.

Zelensky is set to join European Union leaders in Brussels on Friday for talks on further support for Ukraine.