Trump calls Zelensky 'not a good guy' and brands refinery strikes a 'disgrace' as rift with Kyiv deepens

President Trump has publicly turned on Volodymyr Zelensky, telling Newsmax he finds the Ukrainian president "more difficult to deal with than Putin" after Kyiv resumed drone strikes on Russian oil facilities. Trump called the strikes "a disgrace", accused Zelensky of pushing up world oil prices, and said he was "not a big fan" of the Ukrainian leader. Zelensky fired back at the EU summit in Brussels, thanking what he called "real leaders" for standing by Ukraine. Former UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace warned the row should "worry us all", saying Trump's actions show he "wants Russia to win."

Trump blindsided Zelensky last weekend by declaring an energy truce — a deal Zelensky said he never agreed to.

Zelensky halted strikes for three days before resuming them, saying Russia launched over 100 attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure in the same period.

John Bolton warned Zelensky's decision to lecture Trump publicly "won't end well" given the president's domestic political pressures ahead of the midterms.