Zelenskyy appeals for US support after fresh criticism from Trump

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with top US envoys on Monday to try to ease tensions, as Donald Trump accused his counterpart of not wanting to end the war with Russia.

Zelenskyy spoke to US officials Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner as both Russia and Ukraine hit each other’s energy sites, with Russia leaving thousands without power and Ukraine carrying out the largest drone attack on St. Petersburg since the start of the war in 2022.

Trump and Zelenskyy have clashed as the US president blocked new sanctions on Russia and struck a diesel deal with Moscow, fuelling fears in Ukraine and Europe that the White House was steering towards Russia.

On Monday, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that he was in the process of negotiating a peace between Russia and Ukraine and making “great progress,” but claimed, “Zelenskyy doesn’t care, and frankly, with all of the money that Europe is famously giving him … he doesn’t want to end this war, and probably never did.”

“Zelenskyy is using Diesel Refineries in Russia as a target, knowing that these attacks are seriously hurting the world diesel markets, including those in the United States,” Trump said.

Earlier, after speaking to Trump’s business partner Witkoff and son-in-law Kushner, Zelenskyy said “a lot depends” on the US position in the war but that “it is clear that there are many things that matter to all of us and that this war must be brought to an end”.

Ukraine was ready to work “constructively” and “honestly”, he said. “We expect exactly this approach from all our partners — both from the Europeans and, of course, from the American side.”

He said he discussed deliveries of US Patriot air defence systems, as Ukraine struggles to counter Russian missiles.

Zelensky earlier told US broadcaster NBC it would be a “historic mistake” if Washington formally supported Russia and that he hoped Trump would “change his decisions”.

But he also said he was “thankful” the US resumed intelligence sharing after a pause that left his country vulnerable to Russian missile strikes.

Thousands without power

A US-led push to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War Two has so far not brought about a breakthrough, and Trump has in the past grown frustrated with both Zelenskyy and Russia’s Vladimir Putin because of their lack of progress.

Zelenskyy spoke to the US officials as he accused Russia of breaking Trump’s “energy ceasefire” 76 times and warned Moscow planned to deprive Ukrainians of heat and electricity before winter.

Russian strikes left “tens of thousands” without power in several regions, he said, with Ukrainian officials reporting three people had been killed.

Ukraine’s army launched drones at Putin’s hometown of St. Petersburg on Sunday, setting an oil refinery ablaze and killing one person, Russia said.

Rising smoke was visible from St. Petersburg’s historic city centre on the banks of the Neva River, with Russia saying Ukraine struck an oil refinery and depot.

St. Petersburg governor Alexander Beglov said one person was killed and five hospitalised in the city.

Authorities were fighting fires at the St. Petersburg oil terminal, the Ruchyi oil depot and industrial warehouses, he said.

Russia’s VKontakte social network said its data centre was hit and Ozon — Russia’s second largest retailer — also reported a strike on its logistics centre.

The head of the wider Leningrad region, Alexander Drozdenko, said air defence shot down 144 Ukrainian drones, with state media saying this was the largest attack on the city since the start of the war.

‘Dreadful routine of war’

The Kremlin, however, said Ukrainian attacks on its cities will not change its war aims.

Putin has repeatedly said Russia intends to seize the rest of eastern Ukraine and, in a fifth year of war, few see a way out of the conflict.

“There’s a general feeling: they’re attacking, we’re attacking — it’s become the dreadful routine of war,” 58-year-old Galina told the Agence France-Presse news agency in St. Petersburg.

Russia has rained drones and missiles on Ukrainian cities daily, and Ukraine says its strikes are fair retribution.

Sergei, another St. Petersburg resident who is also 58, said he felt his apartment block shake and quickly realised it was a drone attack.

“I don’t know if I was scared, what must be will be,” he said.

Ukrainian strikes caused nationwide fuel shortages in Russia earlier this year.

For the latest from SBS News, download our app and subscribe to our newsletter.