US Siding With Putin Will Be Historic Mistake, Zelenskyy Warns

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that any move by the United States to side formally with Russia would be a historic mistake, amid growing tensions over President Donald Trump’s handling of the war.

Zelenskyy, however, said he still considered Trump an ally and hoped the American president would reverse decisions that have raised concerns in Kyiv and among Ukraine’s supporters in the US Congress.

“We want to trust him,” Zelenskyy told NBC News’ Meet the Press on Sunday.

“I hope that he will change his decisions, because I think that it’s all mistakes, and it will not help us, and it will not help United States,” he added.

His comments followed Trump’s decision to waive sweeping sanctions against Russia, despite bipartisan support for the measures in Congress. Trump signed the sanctions legislation last month before issuing an executive order suspending their application on Friday.

The sanctions aimed to restrict Moscow’s oil and gas revenues by penalising countries and businesses that buy Russian energy products. Trump defended the waiver, arguing that he did not want to push Russia away from the negotiating table.

In a post on Truth Social on Sunday, Trump also accused Ukraine of targeting Russian diesel refineries, claiming the attacks were hurting global diesel markets, including in the United States.

The US president said Russia had done relatively little to assist Iran and indicated that he wanted to maintain that situation. His comments came as Moscow announced that Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov would travel to Tehran during the week.

The sanctions decision followed an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin to release hundreds of thousands of tonnes of Russian diesel into the global market as fuel prices climbed.

Zelenskyy warned that the arrangement could strengthen Putin’s determination to seize more Ukrainian territory. He also questioned whether the deal would significantly reduce fuel costs in the United States.

The Ukrainian president attributed rising oil prices to disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz rather than Ukraine’s military operations against Russian energy infrastructure.

Zelenskyy also criticised the temporary interruption of US intelligence sharing, which he said left Ukraine without vital information about incoming Russian ballistic missiles.

He confirmed that the intelligence flow had resumed after several days, expressing gratitude to Washington for restoring the support.

“We are very thankful for this,” he said. “Now it works.”

However, restrictions on Starshield, the military version of the Starlink satellite internet service operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, remained a concern for Kyiv. Ukraine relies on the technology for military communications and drone operations.

Zelenskyy said he suspected both Trump and Musk had a role in the restrictions, although he could not confirm who made the decision.

The strained relationship between the two leaders has deepened in recent weeks, with Trump previously describing Zelenskyy as more difficult to deal with than Putin.

Zelenskyy defended his direct approach, saying he preferred frank discussions with partners to dealing with leaders he accused of pursuing violence behind a friendly public image.

Meanwhile, Republican Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma defended Trump’s approach, arguing that the president was balancing pressure on Russia with efforts to protect Americans from rising fuel costs.

Lankford maintained that Trump was supporting the Ukrainian people and seeking to bring Moscow and Kyiv back to the negotiating table.

The war has made little progress towards a settlement, with Russia continuing to occupy about a fifth of Ukraine. Kyiv has accused Moscow of rejecting a temporary ceasefire and demanding terms that would amount to surrender.

Zelenskyy said he remained willing to engage with US negotiators despite the disagreements. He expressed hope that further talks could take place in the coming days.

The White House had not responded to a request for comment at the time of the report.