"I'm not a big fan of Zelenskyi": Trump criticizes Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries

16.10.2026, 11:15 rubryka.com

According to the US President, Zelenskyi is supposedly not a person with whom Washington should do business. Trump also suggests that a peace agreement with Russia, if concluded, could be signed without the participation of the current Ukrainian president.

During the interview, the US president also asserted that the root cause of the war was Barack Obama's presidency. According to Trump's claim, Ukraine was allegedly "forced to give up Crimea" during Obama's administration.

The American leader specifically comments on the peninsula temporarily occupied by Russia, calling it the most beautiful and valuable part of Ukraine. Describing Crimea, Trump highlights its geographic location and states that, as a real estate developer, he understands what makes land attractive.

Trump devotes special attention in the interview to the Ukrainian Defense Forces' strikes on Russian oil refineries. He terms such attacks disgraceful, arguing that they contribute to rising global oil prices.

The US president states that he wants such strikes by Ukraine to stop, while emphasizing that he expects similar actions from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

He also emphasizes that Russian oil refineries produce diesel fuel used in the US and globally. In the American president's view, strikes on such facilities do not serve the general welfare.

Thus, in criticizing Ukrainian attacks, Trump focuses primarily on their potential impact on the global energy market and oil prices.

The American president also commented on the events at the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, when Russian forces attempted a rapid capture of Kyiv. Trump states that the war was initially expected to be short, with Russian tanks advancing down the highway toward the Ukrainian capital.

According to him, the course of the offensive might have changed due to a decision by a Russian general to turn onto agricultural fields turned muddy by heavy rains. Trump suggests weather conditions likely hindered the Russian advance, while the Ukrainian side capitalized on the situation.

" Then it was supposed to be a very quick war. And if you remember the tanks going up the highway right into Kyiv, had the general, who was obviously not a very good general, not made a right turn into farmland, which was soaked and soaking wet from the heaviest rain in 10 years, they say. He went right up into the mud, and it was like quicksand, and those tanks, so they [the Ukrainians] got… I don't know if you call it lucky or not lucky, frankly," the US President states.

At the same time, he does not definitively claim that the Ukrainian side owes its success solely to luck.

Discussing prospects for ending the war, the US President states that Volodymyr Zelenskyi must make concessions to Vladimir Putin. Trump explains his position by arguing that Russia possesses a significantly larger mobilization reserve and, in his view, can sustain a war of attrition despite suffering heavy human losses.

"The truth is Russia is a massive country, and Russia can lose a million people, and they have many millions of people behind them," Trump says.

He also repeats his view that Zelenskyi and Putin hate each other, and their mutual animosity complicates ending the war. At the same time, the American president states that despite both sides' desire to end hostilities, negotiating with the Ukrainian leader is harder than with the Russian one, in his opinion.

Background

As Rubryka previously reported, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi stated that Ukraine is ready to hold elections if Russia agrees to a full ceasefire of at least 60 days. According to Zelenskyi, he understands that Putin is interested in changing Ukraine's president.

This statement followed US President Donald Trump's call for Ukrainians to choose a new leader, explaining his position by the necessity of securing a deal to end the war.

Meanwhile, Russia effectively rejected President Volodymyr Zelenskyi's proposal for a 60-day truce that could create conditions for holding elections in Ukraine. The Kremlin stated that Moscow is supposedly interested not in a temporary ceasefire, but in achieving long-term peace.

Additionally, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi stated that Ukraine does not object to US President Donald Trump mediating the Russo-Ukrainian war, while emphasizing that the American leader must not side with Russia.