Zelensky Says Trump Betrayed Ukraine With Russian Diesel Deal

Update: Zelenskiy says refinery strikes will resume

Updated 10:37 UTC, Thursday: President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told the Financial Times, in an interview published on Thursday, that Ukraine will resume strikes on Russian oil refineries. He said the block on attacking refineries is out, which ends the two day pause that followed President Donald Trump's energy ceasefire announcement. Zelenskiy said Ukrainian military officials were warned by their US counterparts that intelligence sharing would be blocked if the energy strikes did not stop, and that the warning was later presented to Kyiv as a technical glitch. He rejected that explanation. He said he could agree to halt energy strikes only in return for more US made Patriot interceptors, which he called the minimum. The interview, given in London on the same visit as the Piers Morgan conversation below, turns the pause into a declared plan to restart the refinery campaign.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday that he felt betrayed by President Donald Trump's decision to ease sanctions on Russian diesel, and he warned that the United States is choosing the wrong side of history.

Asked by Piers Morgan whether he had been betrayed by the Trump administration, Zelensky answered yes. He described the diesel agreement as a simple victory for the Kremlin. He said it is a pity that Ukraine is losing a strong partner.

The interview, recorded for Piers Morgan Uncensored during Zelensky's visit to London, was the bluntest public break yet between Kyiv and Washington since Trump struck the fuel deal with President Vladimir Putin last week. Zelensky met British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and King Charles on the same day, as European leaders worked to show support for Ukraine while ties with the United States worsened.

What Trump did, and why Kyiv objects

Trump wrote last week that Putin had agreed to supply diesel to markets, a move the White House cast as a way to bring down energy costs before the Nov. 3 midterm elections. The deal eased pressure on Russia at a moment when Ukraine has been striking Russian oil refineries, and it drew criticism from European allies and from lawmakers in both US parties. On Oct. 13, twelve senators, six Republicans and six Democrats, wrote to Trump and urged him to rescind the deal.

Zelensky's argument is simple. Fuel sales fund Russia war. Easing sanctions while Russia keeps attacking Ukraine power grid rewards the attacker and punishes the country under attack. He also disputed Trump claim that Ukrainian strikes on refineries are the cause of high global fuel prices, a claim experts have questioned.

Trump has doubled down. He has assailed Zelensky, called for a change of leadership in Kyiv and accused the Ukrainian leader of blocking peace. His administration has warned that the United States could suspend intelligence sharing and European purchases of US weapons for Kyiv if Ukraine does not halt deep strikes on Russian energy sites. Trump has said intelligence sharing continues.

The Starlink fight lands the same day

Zelensky also attacked the new limits on Starlink and its military version, Starshield. Ukrainian officials said the speed limits, imposed overnight on Oct. 14, disrupted drone missions during a Russian barrage of 39 ballistic missiles and more than 120 attack drones. Zelensky said people were killed because interceptors that rely on the service did not work, and he called the restriction a big mistake. Elon Musk answered later on Wednesday that Starshield is owned and controlled by the US government, and that limits are decided by the US military and, ultimately, the president.

Why it matters, and what is next

Ukraine depends on US intelligence, US weapons bought by Europe, and satellite links run by a US company. All three now sit inside a political fight in Washington. Zelensky London trip shows his response: take the case to European capitals and to the public, in plain words, while his army still needs American systems every night. The next test is practical. Watch whether Washington restores full Starshield speeds, whether the diesel deal ships fuel, and whether the threatened halt to intelligence sharing ever happens.