World · Europe · 3 hrs ago
Trump says Putin wants a Ukraine deal more than Zelensky
US President Donald Trump said he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin wants a deal to end the war in Ukraine more than Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky does.
Zelensky has asked the United States to put pressure on Russia to respect a halt to attacks on energy facilities.
Trump said there had been violations by both sides and did not say he would take stronger action against Russia.
Zelensky said Russia attacked a power plant in Kharkiv after Trump announced the halt.
He said Ukraine would respect the arrangement if Russia did, and that Ukraine had not attacked Russian oil refineries the previous night.
Trump has also faced criticism over a proposed deal to supply diesel from Russia, which US senators have called unlawful under a 2022 ban on Russian energy imports.
Zelensky said Ukraine is waiting to see what concrete steps the United States will take.
Donald Trump said he believes Vladimir Putin is more interested than Volodymyr Zelensky in reaching a deal to end the war in Ukraine.
Trump said there had been violations of an energy-sector ceasefire by both sides and that he would have to look into them.
Zelensky said Ukraine was waiting for the United States to take concrete steps to ensure Russia respects the ceasefire.
He said Russia attacked a power plant in Kharkiv after Trump announced that attacks on energy facilities should stop.
Criticism of a reported deal to supply diesel from Russia came from US senators and European allies.
- Who
- US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
- What
- Trump said Putin wants a deal more than Zelensky. Zelensky called for US action to ensure Russia respects an energy-sector ceasefire.
- When
- Handelsblatt published the report on October 12, 2026. The article does not give the date of Trump’s ceasefire announcement.
- Where
- The reported attack was on a power plant in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Zelensky spoke by video link to the Warsaw Security Forum.
- Why
- Zelensky said Russia had violated the energy-sector ceasefire and called for concrete US steps. Trump said he believed Putin wanted an agreement.
Donald Trump
Volodymyr Zelensky
Ceasefire violations
Donald Trump
Trump said there had been violations by both sides and that he would have to look into them.
Volodymyr Zelensky
Zelensky said Russia attacked a power plant after Trump announced the ceasefire and called for the United States to ensure Russia respected it.
Reaching a deal
Donald Trump
Trump said he believed Putin wanted an agreement and that Putin was more interested in a deal than Zelensky.
Volodymyr Zelensky
Zelensky said Ukraine agreed to stop attacks on energy facilities if Russia also respected the ceasefire.
Trump announced on social media that all attacks on energy facilities in the Ukraine war should stop immediately.
Russia carried out a targeted attack on a power plant in Kharkiv, according to Zelensky.
Ukraine refrained from attacking Russian oil refineries, Zelensky said.
Handelsblatt reported Trump’s comments that Putin was more interested than Zelensky in reaching a deal.
- Ceasefire scope
- Attacks on energy facilities
- Reported attack
- A power plant in Kharkiv
- Ukraine’s position
- Agreed to stop attacks on energy facilities if Russia did the same
- Reported diesel deal
- Hundreds of thousands of tonnes from Russia
- US import ban cited by senators
- Congress prohibited imports of Russian energy products in 2022
What people are saying
I actually believe that Putin is more interested than Zelensky in making a deal.
We are waiting to see what concrete steps the Americans are prepared to take.
And directly after the post was published, Russia carried out a targeted attack on a power plant in Kharkiv, causing further damage to our energy system.
Well, I would have to look at that first, because there were violations on both sides.
Sources
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