US-Ukraine relationship worsens amid Trump and Zelensky’s mutual distrust

The relationship between Ukraine and the United States is facing increasing strain over intelligence sharing, sanctions, Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy and the path to peace.

There also appears to be deepening mutual distrust between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky.

Over the weekend Kyiv launched one of its biggest drone attacks this year on Russia , hitting a key oil terminal, in defiance of Trump’s demand that Ukraine stop hitting Russian refining plants.

The White House is trying to relieve pressure on oil and diesel prices in the US ahead of crucial midterm elections, as diesel prices are at a record high.

Last week Trump called Kyiv’s strikes on Russian oil refineries a “disgrace” and said Zelensky was more difficult to deal with than Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

In an interview on Sunday, Zelensky hit back, saying it was “better to have partners who are very open and clear than to have those who are killers, even with a smile on their face,” an apparent reference to Trump’s relationship to Russia.

Trump again criticized Zelensky on Sunday, claiming in a Truth Social post that he “doesn’t want to end this war, and probably never did.”

The relationship now seems to be at its lowest ebb since the explosive meeting at the White House 18 months ago.

Zelensky has consistently said he is open to peace negotiations if Ukraine’s security can be guaranteed.

The Ukrainian president said he spoke to US envoy, Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner on Sunday as part of “nonstop communication” to work towards the goal of peace.

“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,” Zelensky posted on X .

“Ukraine never wanted this war, and we have welcomed literally EVERY attempt by our partners to bring this war to a dignified end,” Zelensky added on Monday .

Trump has defended recent concessions to Russia on sanctions, which have included a waiver to allow Russian diesel exports and another exempting Russia from sweeping economic penalties mandated by the US Congress.

“I am in the process of negotiating Peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine, and don’t want to do anything that will drive, foolishly, Russia away from the bargaining table,” Trump wrote in his Sunday post.

In an interview Sunday with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Zelensky said the waivers strengthened Putin’s war against Ukraine while Moscow was failing on the battlefield.

There is growing anxiety in Kyiv and Europe that the Trump administration will make further concessions to Moscow in an effort to get Putin to agree to a peace deal.

Zelensky told “Meet the Press” that the US siding with Russia would be a “historic mistake.” He said he wanted to trust Trump and hoped he would change his attitude to Putin.

Asked if Trump was an ally of Ukraine, Zelensky said: “I hope so.”

Ukraine is also perturbed by reports of a possible three-way meeting involving the US and China next month on settling the conflict – without Ukrainian involvement.

“I think there’s been talk of a meeting. I don’t know if anything’s been finalized,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said during a visit to Uzbekistan Monday.

Such a meeting would not help peace but “would do only the opposite: encourage Putin to continue this war,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said Monday.

“Inviting Putin to such a meeting would feed his appetite for self-aggrandizement and give him a stature he does not deserve,” Sybiha wrote on X.

The Kremlin said Monday that “no concrete proposals or agreements – neither regarding the meeting itself nor its potential agenda and content – have been discussed or put forward by anyone.”

Defying Trump’s demands, Ukraine is keeping up long-range strikes into Russia. One target at the weekend was the St. Petersburg Oil Terminal. The terminal can handle up to 12.5 million tons per year. Ukraine’s Fire Point company, which makes the drones used in the attack, said there was a fire on the terminal’s grounds following the strike.

A logistics center in St. Petersburg was also attacked, according to Ozon, a Russian distribution company, as well as a data center for the Russian VKontakte social media platform.

One person was killed and five wounded in the attacks, with residential homes damaged as well, according to local authorities.

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A week ago, Trump said Russia and Ukraine had agreed to stop attacking each other’s energy infrastructure.

Neither Kyiv nor Moscow acknowledged such an agreement. Ukraine briefly halted such attacks, but Russia never stopped pounding Ukraine’s energy plants and cities.

“Since the American President announced the energy ceasefire a week ​ago, Russia has ​deliberately ‌attacked ​Ukraine’s energy and oil and gas sectors ⁠76 times,” Zelensky ​wrote on X Sunday.

Accusations have also flown over the cuts in US satellite intelligence provided to the Ukrainian military.

Zelensky repeated on Sunday that changes in the Starlink system owned by billionaire Elon Musk was limiting the speed of its short-range and battlefield drones, describing it as a “message from the American government.”

The Trump administration has denied it ordered the service restricted.

Similarly it has pushed back on accusations from Kyiv that intelligence on incoming ballistic missiles is not being shared.

Zelensky said on Monday that Kyiv had received no advance warning of ballistic missile attacks on Sunday night – something he claims has occurred multiple times in the past week.

“Another Russian ballistic missile attack came in several waves overnight, and once again, there was no early warning from our partners.”

US satellite networks are critical in providing the Ukrainian military with warnings of incoming missiles. Russian ballistic missile attacks are aimed at crippling civilian life and destroying essential infrastructure.

“I don’t know where he’s getting these things or why he’s saying these things to the press,” Rubio told ‌reporters Monday. “You should go back and ask him. There’s been no pause.”

“What he should be focused on, and what we want to be focused on, is bringing an end to this war. That’s what he should be focused ​on,” Rubio said of Zelensky.

Kyiv and Washington see very different paths to that goal.

CNN’s Daria Tarasova, Anna Chernova, Julia Benbrook and Jennifer Hansler contributed to this report.

由于情报共享、制裁、乌克兰对俄罗斯能源的袭击以及和平之路等问题，乌克兰与美国的关系正面临日益紧张的局面。

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普和乌克兰领导人弗拉基米尔·泽连斯基之间的相互不信任似乎也在加深。

上周末，基辅对俄罗斯发动了今年规模最大的无人机袭击之一，袭击了一个重要的石油码头，此举公然违抗了特朗普要求乌克兰停止袭击俄罗斯炼油厂的命令。

在关键的中期选举前夕，由于柴油价格处于历史高位，白宫正试图缓解美国石油和柴油价格的压力。

上周，特朗普称基辅对俄罗斯炼油厂的袭击是“耻辱”，并表示泽连斯基比俄罗斯领导人弗拉基米尔·普京更难对付。

泽连斯基在周日的一次采访中反驳道：“与其与那些即使面带微笑也是杀人犯的人合作，不如与那些非常坦诚和透明的伙伴合作”，这显然是指特朗普与俄罗斯的关系。

周日，特朗普再次批评泽连斯基，他在 Truth Social 上发帖称，泽连斯基“不想结束这场战争，而且可能从来就没想过要结束这场战争”。

目前两国关系似乎正处于18个月前白宫那次激烈会晤以来的最低点。

泽连斯基一直表示，如果乌克兰的安全能够得到保障，他愿意进行和平谈判。

乌克兰总统表示，他周日与美国特使史蒂夫·威特科夫和特朗普的女婿贾里德·库什纳进行了通话，这是为实现和平目标而进行的“不间断沟通”的一部分。

泽连斯基在 X 上发帖称：“我们正在尽一切努力促成此事，并确保美国的立场坚定，有助于推动和平进程。”

泽连斯基周一补充说：“乌克兰从未想要这场战争，我们欢迎我们的伙伴为体面地结束这场战争所做的每一项努力。”

特朗普为近期对俄罗斯在制裁问题上做出的让步进行了辩护，这些让步包括豁免俄罗斯柴油出口，以及豁免俄罗斯免受美国国会强制执行的全面经济制裁。

特朗普在周日的帖子中写道：“我正在就俄罗斯和乌克兰之间的战争进行和平谈判，不想做任何愚蠢的事情，把俄罗斯赶出谈判桌。”

泽连斯基周日在接受美国全国广播公司“会见媒体”节目采访时表示，这些豁免加强了普京对乌克兰的战争，而莫斯科在战场上却节节败退。

基辅和欧洲越来越担心，特朗普政府会进一步向莫斯科做出让步，以促使普京同意和平协议。

泽连斯基在接受“与媒体见面”节目采访时表示，美国与俄罗斯结盟将是一个“历史性的错误”。他说他想信任特朗普，并希望特朗普能改变对普京的态度。

当被问及特朗普是否是乌克兰的盟友时，泽连斯基说：“我希望如此。”

乌克兰还对有关下个月美国和中国可能举行三方会谈以解决冲突的报道感到不安——而乌克兰却没有参与其中。

“我认为双方已经讨论过会面事宜。但我不知道是否已经最终敲定，”美国国务卿马可·卢比奥周一在访问乌兹别克斯坦期间表示。

乌克兰外交部长安德烈·西比哈周一表示，这样的会晤无助于和平，反而“只会起到相反的作用：鼓励普京继续这场战争”。

Sybiha 在 X 上写道：“邀请普京参加这样的会议会助长他的自我膨胀的欲望，并给他一个他不应得的地位。”

克里姆林宫周一表示，“没有任何人讨论或提出任何具体的提议或协议——无论是关于会议本身，还是关于其潜在的议程和内容。”

尽管特朗普要求乌克兰采取行动，但乌克兰仍继续对俄罗斯境内目标进行远程打击。周末的袭击目标之一是圣彼得堡石油码头。该码头年吞吐能力高达1250万吨。制造此次袭击所用无人机的乌克兰“火点”公司称，袭击后码头区域发生火灾。

据俄罗斯分销公司 Ozon 称，圣彼得堡的一个物流中心以及俄罗斯社交媒体平台 VKontakte 的一个数据中心也遭到了袭击。

据当地政府称，袭击事件造成一人死亡，五人受伤，居民房屋也遭到破坏。

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一周前，特朗普表示，俄罗斯和乌克兰已同意停止攻击对方的能源基础设施。

基辅和莫斯科均未承认存在此类协议。乌克兰曾短暂停止此类袭击，但俄罗斯从未停止对乌克兰能源工厂和城市的轰炸。

“自从美国总统一周前宣布能源停火以来，俄罗斯已经蓄意攻击乌克兰的能源、石油和天然气部门 76 次，”泽连斯基周日在 X 网站上写道。

此外，有关美国削减向乌克兰军方提供的卫星情报的指责也甚嚣尘上。

泽连斯基周日重申，亿万富翁埃隆·马斯克拥有的星链系统的变化限制了其短程和战场无人机的速度，他将其描述为“来自美国政府的信息”。

特朗普政府否认曾下令限制该服务。

同样，俄罗斯也反驳了基辅方面关于没有分享来袭弹道导弹情报的指控。

泽连斯基周一表示，基辅方面没有收到周日晚间弹道导弹袭击的任何预警——他声称过去一周内这种情况已经发生过多次。

“俄罗斯再次发动弹道导弹袭击，一夜之间分多波次袭来，而我们的伙伴再次没有提前发出预警。”

美国卫星网络对于向乌克兰军方提供来袭导弹预警至关重要。俄罗斯的弹道导弹袭击旨在破坏平民生活并摧毁重要基础设施。

“我不知道他从哪里得到这些信息，也不知道他为什么要对媒体说这些话，”鲁比奥周一告诉记者。“你们应该回去问问他。他一直都在这么说。”

“他应该关注的，也是我们希望关注的，是结束这场战争。这才是他应该关注的，”鲁比奥谈到泽连斯基时说道。

基辅和华盛顿对实现这一目标的看法截然不同。

CNN的Daria Tarasova、Anna Chernova、Julia Benbrook和Jennifer Hansler对本报道亦有贡献。