Trump Pressures Ukraine as He Pursues Deals With Russia

President Donald Trump is escalating pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy while pursuing economic and diplomatic arrangements with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a shift that has heightened tensions between Washington and Kyiv as Russian attacks on Ukraine continue. The moves include delaying sanctions, arranging Russian diesel imports and criticizing Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, raising concerns about the future of US support for Ukraine.

On October 20, Trump defended Russia's conduct in the war, criticized Zelenskyy's leadership and suggested Ukraine should consider a different negotiator. His comments followed Ukrainian drone strikes against Russian energy facilities and renewed disputes over whether Kyiv and Moscow had agreed to stop attacking energy infrastructure.

Russia's invasion has continued to devastate Ukrainian cities and energy systems. Ukrainian authorities said Russian missile and drone attacks killed 11 people and injured nearly 50 across Ukraine in the 24 hours leading up to October 18, including attacks on energy facilities in the Odesa region.

Trump disputed criticism of his approach while speaking to reporters outside the White House on Monday.

"Russia, frankly, has been fine on Ukraine," Trump said. "They haven't been doing much," he added, despite continued Russian attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure.

Trump also argued that Washington had provided substantial assistance without receiving anything in return from Kyiv. In a social media post on October 18, he accused Zelenskyy of resisting a settlement, claiming the Ukrainian leader "doesn't want to end this war, and probably never did." Zelenskyy rejected that characterization and continued pursuing negotiations with US officials.

The dispute has intensified over energy policy. Trump announced an arrangement to import Russian diesel after energy prices rose following the US war against Iran, which began in late February, according to MS NOW. Critics questioned whether the imports would reduce fuel prices, arguing that Russian domestic demand could limit additional supply while the revenue would help Moscow sustain its war effort.

Trump blamed Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil facilities for contributing to high diesel prices and called for a change in Ukraine's leadership on October 10.

"I suggest they get a new leader who can make a deal, because he could have made many deals, and for some reason, he never does," Trump told reporters. He added, "I think it's time for Ukraine to get a new president."

Ukraine's strikes continued despite Trump's efforts to secure an energy ceasefire. Kyiv and Moscow did not confirm the agreement announced by Trump, and Ukrainian officials said Russia continued targeting their country's energy infrastructure.

Zelenskyy said Russia had deliberately attacked Ukrainian energy and oil and gas facilities 76 times since Trump announced the proposed ceasefire. Ukrainian officials also reported that Russian attacks on October 18 killed civilians and damaged residential buildings.

Ukraine launched a major drone operation against Russia on October 18, striking the St. Petersburg Oil Terminal, which Russian authorities said can handle up to 12.5 million tons annually. Ukraine's drone manufacturer Fire Point said the strike caused a fire at the facility.

Russian authorities reported that one person was killed and five were wounded in the attacks around St. Petersburg.

Russia's Defense Ministry said it had intercepted 1,015 Ukrainian drones overnight across several parts of the country. Other reported targets included a distribution warehouse and a data center associated with the Russian social media platform VKontakte.

Trump's administration has also faced questions about restrictions affecting Ukraine's access to satellite communications. Zelenskyy said access to Starlink and Starshield services remained limited in some areas of the front and that Ukraine had received no advance warning from partners about the first wave of a Russian ballistic missile attack.

"Unfortunately, we received no early warning from our partners about the first wave of the Russian ballistic missile attack last night. And we still face speed restrictions on Starlink and Starshield services in different parts of the front," Zelenskyy said in a social media post. "No explanation for either of these issues has been provided to Ukraine by the American side."

SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk said any decision to interrupt Starshield service had come from the US government rather than his company, according to MS NOW. Reuters reported that an order originated inside the White House, although the administration denied that Trump personally made the decision.

Trump also delayed implementation of a new round of sanctions against Russia on October 16. The executive order described the suspension as being in the national interests of the United States but did not provide a detailed public explanation. The decision drew criticism from both parties in Congress.

Zelenskyy warned that easing sanctions strengthened Moscow's position. Speaking to NBC News, he said siding with Russia would be a historic mistake, while continuing discussions with US envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner on October 18.

"We are doing everything on our part to make this happen, and to ensure that America's position is strong and helps bring peace closer," Zelenskyy wrote on X.

Diplomatic tensions have also grown over discussions of a possible summit involving Trump, Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The proposed meeting could address the war without Ukraine participating, prompting Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha to warn that such an arrangement could encourage Putin to prolong the conflict.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said discussions about a possible meeting had taken place but that no final arrangements were known. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the possibility had been mentioned during discussions between the leaders but said no concrete proposals or agreements had been made. China's Foreign Ministry said it had no information to share.

Some US lawmakers have challenged the prospect of negotiations that exclude Kyiv. Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, co-chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, said negotiations over Ukraine's future must include the country itself, arguing that its sovereignty and right to determine its future should not be decided by Washington, Moscow and Beijing without Ukrainian participation.

The current confrontation also revives a longstanding political dispute. After the 2016 US election, American intelligence agencies concluded that Russia had attempted to influence US voters. Trump later embraced a discredited theory blaming Ukraine for framing Russia in connection with the hacking of Democratic National Committee emails.

In 2019, Trump withheld military assistance to Ukraine while pressing Zelenskyy to investigate allegations involving former Vice President Joe Biden and his son. The episode led to Trump's first impeachment. His renewed criticism of Zelenskyy comes as Republicans face potential losses in the November 2026 midterm elections and the administration confronts public frustration over rising prices and the war with Iran.