Trump-Zelenskiy Rift Widens Over Russia Policy and Energy Strikes

Ukrainian officials have concluded that staying quiet is riskier than speaking up as U.S. President Donald Trump goes further than before in favoring Russia's interests, The New York Times reported on Oct. 20.

A day earlier, Trump said Volodymyr Zelenskiy should get somebody else to negotiate an end to the war, according to Reuters. Trump had said on Oct. 10 that Ukraine needs a new leader, suggesting Zelenskiy had not done enough to end the war.

Zelenskiy has answered with a series of public criticisms suggesting the United States was now favoring Russia, Reuters reported on Oct. 17. Zelenskiy said he was "only standing up for Ukraine's interests" after criticism from Trump, and said it was "painful" when Trump took another side.

The dispute includes U.S. sanctions, meaning economic and other restrictions, against Russia. Zelenskiy sharply criticized Trump's decision to suspend several U.S. sanctions and urged support for keeping sanctions in place after Trump paused them.

Energy strikes are another point of contention. Trump said on Oct. 11 that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an energy ceasefire. Ukraine said the same week it is ready to refrain from striking Russian energy infrastructure and counts on the same readiness from Russia. Trump later called Ukraine's strikes on Russian refineries a "disgrace."

European leaders rallied around Zelenskiy after Trump's criticism of Ukraine, Reuters reported on Oct. 16. Zelenskiy said on Oct. 18 that the United States had resumed intelligence-sharing with Ukraine after a pause, and said he hopes Trump will remain an ally of Ukraine.

The two presidents had agreed in September to meet in New York. During a meeting there, Trump suggested a deal to end Russia's war in Ukraine could be close.