Trump accuses Zelensky of never wanting to end the war; Kyiv says US is pushing it to capitulate

US President Donald Trump published a lengthy comment on his social media platform Truth Social on Sunday, 18 October 2026, about relations with Ukraine and Russia, again accusing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Trump argues that Zelensky has most likely never wanted to end the war that Russia started in Ukraine. Zelensky, speaking to Bloomberg the same day, said the United States is trying to convince Kyiv to capitulate. The exchange matters because relations between the two leaders have sharply worsened in recent days, after sanctions on Russian diesel fuel were lifted.

Trump's claims

Trump wrote that his decision on Russia is very simple: he has entered talks to achieve peace between Russia and Ukraine and does not want to do anything that would, through foolishness, push Russia out of the negotiations. He claims significant progress has been made, including in current talks on a prisoner exchange, and that Russia is currently doing almost nothing to help Iran.

The US president continues to insist that Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries are raising diesel prices worldwide and, as a result, fuel prices in the US. According to him, despite the strikes Russia is shipping millions of tons of diesel to world markets, and Zelensky does not care.

Trump also wrote that two years ago Zelensky could have struck a much better deal. In his words, Ukraine has been devastated, has lost a considerable share of its territory and its access to seas and oceans, and the number of men has fallen sharply because of injuries and deaths.

Zelensky's response

In the Bloomberg interview, Zelensky said he had offered to stop attacks on Russian refineries in exchange for ammunition for Patriot air defense systems. However, the US reaction suggests Washington wants the strikes halted without any conditions.

"I believe steps were taken to convince Ukraine to capitulate," Zelensky said. He added that he is not saying this is the aim of Ukraine's partners, and that he would not like to think the Americans believe the war could end sooner at Ukraine's expense, but "that is how it looks."