Zelensky says he feels betrayed by Trump after Russia fuel deal

Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he felt betrayed after US President Donald Trump announced a new deal to buy Russian fuel from Moscow last week .

When asked by British media personality Piers Morgan if he had been “betrayed” by the Trump administration, Zelensky answered, “Yes.”

“It’s a pity that we are losing a strong partner,” the Ukrainian president told Morgan on Wednesday during his YouTube talk show, “Piers Morgan Uncensored.”

Last week, Trump wrote on social media that Russia’s President Vladimir Putin agreed to supply markets with his country’s diesel fuel as the US president works to bring down energy costs ahead of the midterm elections. That move drew bipartisan criticism and sparked anger among European allies.

On Monday, Russian forces launched fresh attacks on Ukraine just hours after the US president stated an “energy ceasefire” had come into effect – a measure that neither Moscow nor Kyiv had publicly confirmed.

In a clip shared on X from the interview with Morgan, which is yet to air in full, the Ukrainian president said: “This is our country, our body, our home, our children… That’s why it’s painful when Trump chooses one side.”

“If you’re in the middle, you have to stay in the middle. Not on the wrong side,” said Zelensky. “This is not the right side of history.”

Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

Russia deal, execution plans and deportations tell a defining tale about Trump and power

Both Russian and Ukrainian troops have intensified aerial attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure in recent weeks, as movements on the battlefield remain relatively stagnant.

The Trump administration had warned Ukraine and allies in Europe that the US could suspend intelligence sharing and European purchases of US weapons for Kyiv if it did not halt deep strikes on Russian energy facilities.

Information sharing is invaluable to Ukrainian defense efforts against Russian ballistic missile attacks by giving the locations of missile launchers along with data on where the strikes are being directed, and when.

In the days that followed, Trump administration officials, including the president, insisted such intelligence sharing continued. But what explained the lack of missile warnings?

When asked by Kyiv for an explanation, US officials blamed the weather. But Ukrainian officials suspected it was deliberate. “America says it was a failure,” a European official told CNN. “But it can’t be the truth.”

“This will give Russians a real leverage on a frontline at the time when we effectively stopped their advances, and de-occupy the territories,” a Ukrainian official told CNN.

Zelensky has spent the past week trying to shore up support among European leaders. On Wednesday, he met Britain’s Prime Minister Andy Burnham and King Charles over two separate meetings in London – just as he Kremlin fired drones and ballistic miles that left more than 600,000 people in Ukraine without power, according to Zelensky.

瓦伦丁·奥吉连科/路透社

乌克兰总统泽连斯基表示，美国总统特朗普上周宣布与莫斯科达成一项新的俄罗斯燃料购买协议后，他感到被背叛了。

当被英国媒体名人皮尔斯·摩根问及是否被特朗普政府“背叛”时，泽连斯基回答说：“是的。”

“我们失去了一个强大的伙伴，这很可惜，”乌克兰总统周三在摩根的 YouTube 脱口秀节目“皮尔斯·摩根无删减版”中告诉摩根。

上周，特朗普在社交媒体上发文称，俄罗斯总统普京同意向市场供应俄罗斯柴油，以期在中期选举前降低能源成本。此举引发了来自两党的批评，并激怒了欧洲盟友。

周一，就在美国总统宣布“能源停火”生效几个小时后，俄罗斯军队对乌克兰发动了新的袭击——莫斯科和基辅都没有公开证实这一措施。

在 X 上分享的一段摩根采访片段中（该采访尚未完整播出），乌克兰总统说：“这是我们的国家，我们的身体，我们的家园，我们的孩子……这就是为什么当特朗普选择站在某一方时，我们感到痛苦。”

泽连斯基说：“如果你身处中间，就必须保持中间立场，不能站在错误的一边。我们现在所处的并非历史正确的一边。”

朱莉娅·德马雷·尼金森/美联社

俄罗斯协议、执行计划和驱逐行动，共同讲述了一个关于特朗普和权力的典型故事。

近几周来，俄罗斯和乌克兰军队都加强了对对方能源基础设施的空中袭击，而战场上的局势仍然相对停滞不前。

特朗普政府曾警告乌克兰及其欧洲盟友，如果乌克兰不停止对俄罗斯能源设施的纵深打击，美国可能会暂停情报共享以及欧洲向基辅购买美国武器。

信息共享对于乌克兰防御俄罗斯弹道导弹袭击至关重要，因为它可以提供导弹发射装置的位置以及打击目标和时间等数据。

在随后的几天里，包括总统在内的特朗普政府官员坚称，此类情报共享仍在继续。但为什么没有收到导弹预警呢？

当基辅方面要求解释时，美国官员将责任归咎于天气。但乌克兰官员怀疑这是人为造成的。“美国说这是一次失败，”一位欧洲官员告诉CNN，“但这不可能是事实。”

一位乌克兰官员告诉 CNN：“这将使俄罗斯人在前线拥有真正的筹码，而我们当时已经有效地阻止了他们的推进，并收回了这些领土。”

过去一周，泽连斯基一直在努力争取欧洲领导人的支持。周三，他在伦敦分别会见了英国首相安迪·伯纳姆和查理国王——就在此时，据泽连斯基称，克里姆林宫发射无人机和弹道导弹，导致乌克兰超过60万人断电。