Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine would resume strikes on Russian oil refineries. He also voiced outrage over what he called a “dangerous” halt to intelligence sharing with the United States and the simultaneous weakening of Starlink satellite internet services amid intense Russian attacks.
He said this in an interview with the Financial Times.
“The block [on strikes on refineries] has been lifted. We’ve had enough,” the Ukrainian leader said.
He also criticised Washington’s desire to strike business deals with Moscow and US President Donald Trump’s apparent admiration for Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Asked to explain the relationship between the two leaders, Zelenskyy said Trump has a natural inclination towards autocrats and extremely wealthy people.
“He [Trump] openly and loudly says that he likes such people and respects them. Because for him, people who can be leaders for 20, 30, 40 years means they can be very strong,” Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy said he paused strikes on energy infrastructure for three days to meet US wishes. At the same time, Moscow continued to launch massive strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and kill civilians. He said that more than 100 civilians had been killed in the past week alone.
He said Ukrainian military officials received a warning from their American counterparts: “If you don’t stop [strikes on energy infrastructure], we will block intelligence.”
Kyiv was later told the situation was due to a technical malfunction. However, Zelenskyy dismissed suggestions that disruptions to the Starlink satellite system could have been caused by a fault. In his words, it was “not a technical problem, but a matter of will”.
Earlier, Trump denied that Washington had stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine.
Zelenskyy stressed that Ukraine’s relationship with the United States as an honest and strategic partner is crucial in the fight against Russia. He compared it to Kyiv’s relationship with the United Kingdom.
“Russia can wage war… against all of us, but only when we are not together,” the president said, adding that restoring relations with the White House does not depend on him.
“We are not the ones who destroyed any relationship,” Zelenskyy said.
Asked whether Ukraine would stop strikes on energy infrastructure even if Russia continued its attacks in order to repair relations with the White House, the president replied that he could agree to this only on the condition that Ukraine is provided with additional US Patriot missile interceptors. He said this would be the “minimum” he had asked for. Instead, in response to requests to strengthen air defence, the US side restricted Starlink’s operation.
Zelenskyy also warned that halting strikes on Russia’s energy infrastructure could only encourage the United States and Russia to strike new deals, potentially providing additional funds for Russia’s war machine.
“The only question is when the next deal will be. Perhaps it will be gas. It will definitely be gas. There are interesting business relations between the United States and Russia. I think they [the Americans] want to have energy projects, and… of course, it is difficult for them to do this while there is a war in Europe,” he said.
At the same time, Zelenskyy suggested that Trump could face a backlash from the American public.
As for calls for his resignation, Zelenskyy called such statements “rhetoric” that Americans would not like and that would only play into Putin’s hands.
“What matters is that Putin does not feel pressure. When he does not feel pressure, he attacks, because he gets enormous pleasure from it. A split between Europe and the United States, or between Ukraine and the United States, helps him [Putin] unite his people. It creates in him a sense of success. It helps him feel that he is not losing, but winning,” the Ukrainian president said, noting that Putin is not actually winning. However, he said the struggle for an edge in military technologies, particularly in drones, is changeable: one month the advantage is on Ukraine’s side, the next it is Russia’s.
Washington had previously increased pressure on Kyiv, demanding it stop attacks on Russian oil refineries. The US side argues that a moratorium on such strikes, together with a US deal with Moscow to purchase hundreds of thousands of tonnes of Russian diesel fuel, is necessary to bring down fuel prices in the United States.
The deterioration in relations between Kyiv and Washington has become the most acute crisis between Ukraine and its most important security partner since Trump and his senior officials publicly criticised Zelenskyy in the Oval Office in February last year.
The Ukrainian president spoke to journalists in London after meetings with King Charles III, UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham and defence officials.
On Thursday, he will address EU leaders in Brussels, calling for tougher sanctions against Russia and faster allocation of European funds to support Ukraine’s war effort.