Ahead of his attendance at the European Union (EU) summit in Brussels on September 16, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who visited London, UK, said, “The ban on attacks against Russian refineries has ended. The restrictions have been lifted.”
He spoke candidly in interviews with the Financial Times, FT, journalist Piers Morgan, and others. Zelenskyy noted that while he halted attacks on Russian energy facilities at Trump’s request, the result was the U.S. suspending early-warning intelligence sharing about Russian missile attacks and restricting Ukraine’s access to Starshield satellites for attack drones. He criticized, “I feel betrayed,” adding, “I don’t know who is advising Trump, but it’s wrong. This is not about being on the right side of history.”
Zelenskyy also spoke bluntly about Trump. In a September 15 FT interview, when asked to explain his relationship with Trump, he said, “Trump instinctively feels close to dictators and billionaires. He openly and loudly says he loves and respects such people because he thinks their decades-long rule means they are very strong.”
He added, “Putin is our enemy and the real evil today. How can Trump be friends with him? I think that’s a mistake.”
After the FT interview was released, Ukrainian officials announced on the night of the 14th to dawn on the 15th that they had attacked a refinery in Russia’s Ryazan region, southeast of Moscow. The Ryazan governor also confirmed a fire at a refinery via social media.
President Trump, ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, stated he spoke with Putin for 90 minutes on the 10th to lower diesel prices, immediately importing 300,000 tons of Russian diesel and purchasing millions of tons more by April next year. This contradicts the economic sanctions against Russia taken by Trump and Congress. Trump also said Zelenskyy ignored his six requests to halt attacks on Russian refineries, adding, “Ukraine might need to elect a new president.”
However, Zelenskyy told the FT, “Our military officials were told by the U.S. side, ‘If you don’t stop energy attacks, we’ll cut off intelligence.’ We halted attacks for three days as requested, but Russia continued attacking Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, killing over 100 civilians.”
In an appearance on Piers Morgan’s YouTube show “Piers Morgan Uncensored,” Zelenskyy said, “When told to stop energy attacks, I suppressed my emotions and told our U.S. partners, ‘We will do so, but Russia will attack our energy facilities within hours or days,’ and indeed, the attack happened that very night.”
Zelenskyy criticized, “Yet they took the incomprehensible measure of blocking Starlink, which is unthinkable between partners.” He dismissed technical glitches as the cause, stating, “It wasn’t a technical issue—it was a matter of will.”
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy’s office announced on the 15th that Starlink functionality had been restored, with speed limits lifted. Ukraine previously stated that for two days, Starshield, the military version of Starlink funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, restricted access for drones moving faster than 100 miles per hour and high-speed military vehicles.
Regarding this, Elon Musk of SpaceX, which operates Starlink and Starshield, wrote on social media X on the 14th, “The Starshield system, a military satellite communication network based on Starlink technology, is owned and controlled by the U.S. government. Restrictions on speed or usage are decided by the U.S. military, ultimately by the POTUS.”
Zelenskyy admitted in the FT interview that waging war without U.S. support would be “very difficult” and stressed that remaining an “honest strategic partner” of the U.S. was essential to winning the war. However, he added, “We have not damaged any relationship with the U.S.”
When asked if he could halt attacks on Russian energy facilities to restore ties with the White House even if Russia continued attacks, Zelenskyy said he would agree only if the U.S. provided more Patriot missile interceptors, calling this the “minimum requirement.”
He described U.S.-Russia business as “interesting” and hinted that the next step would be “gas deals,” while suggesting Trump might face domestic backlash.
Zelenskyy said, “Everyone will want to ask how it’s possible to do business with such aggressive people when others are struggling, fighting, and dying.”
He explained that Putin is not actually dominant in the war, but the competition over military technology like drones shifts monthly—Ukraine leads one month, Russia the next.
Regarding Trump’s call for his resignation, Zelenskyy dismissed it as “rhetoric” that displeases Americans and only benefits Putin. He said, “The key point is Putin feels no pressure, and when he doesn’t, he attacks and feels immense pleasure.”
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