Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused US President Donald Trump of trying to force Kyiv to capitulate to Russia.
Modern.az reports that Zelensky spoke about this in an interview with Bloomberg.
“I think steps have been taken to push Ukraine to capitulate. I don’t want to believe that our American partners think it’s possible to end the war faster at Ukraine’s expense. But that’s exactly how the situation looks,” Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian leader noted that he accepted Trump’s request to stop attacks on Russian oil refineries. In return, additional missiles for “Patriot” air defense systems were to be supplied to Ukraine.
“They just want us to stop striking their diesel fuel production. If we don’t do that, they will deprive us of something,” Zelensky emphasized.
He also stated that the US was delaying the delivery of interceptor missiles paid for under the US aid program to Ukraine.
“The American side has approved the delivery of only a part of them, and has not allowed the rest. This is not a technical issue,” the Ukrainian President noted.
Zelensky linked the tension in relations with Washington to the interim elections to be held in the US on November 3. According to him, political struggle becomes more severe during election periods.
“Politics becomes very aggressive during elections,” Zelensky said, expressing hope that “life will be calmer” after the vote.
The Ukrainian leader also said that Trump’s relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin were “really good.” However, he stressed that the US president is currently unable to force Putin to stop the war.
According to earlier reports, Trump reached an agreement with Putin on the supply of Russian diesel fuel to the American market and demanded that Zelensky stop strikes on Russian oil refineries.
After this, Kyiv stated that warnings about missile launches from Russian territory were no longer coming. Ukraine also faced restrictions in the operation of the “Starlink” satellite internet service.
The White House and the US State Department denied that Trump had ordered the withholding of intelligence from Kyiv and the restriction of “Starlink” service for the Ukrainian army.
Trump, in turn, accused Zelensky of not wanting to end the war and called for presidential elections in Ukraine.
