Zelensky accuses Trump of pressuring Ukraine into capitulation

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Donald Trump of attempting to force Kyiv into capitulating to Russia.

Bloomberg reported this on October 18, following an interview with Zelensky conducted in Kyiv.

“I believe steps have been taken to force Ukraine into capitulation. I’m not saying this is the goal of our partners… But that is what it looks like,” Zelensky said.

In the same interview, the Ukrainian president put forward a counter-proposal: Kyiv is prepared to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries if the United States supplies more missiles for Patriot air defense systems.

The “diesel for Patriots” proposal

Zelensky described his position as follows:

“We don’t touch Russian diesel fuel, and you give us missiles for Patriot systems to protect our facilities. But they want us to simply stop the attacks on diesel fuel.”

According to him, the United States is currently supplying only about 12 Patriot interceptor missiles per month. Under Trump, Ukraine is purchasing them, whereas the Biden administration had provided them free of charge as part of military aid.

“We paid for the weapons; the US approved some of the deliveries and not others. And this is not a technical problem,” Zelensky said.

The shortage of interceptors is acute: on October 15, a source told CNN that Ukraine had run out of Patriot missiles and that during a recent Russian strike, almost all ballistic missiles reached their targets.

Starlink and the “energy ceasefire”

The dispute between Kyiv and Washington began after Trump announced an “energy ceasefire” and a deal with Putin allowing the sale of Russian diesel fuel. The stated goal was to lower fuel prices ahead of the midterm elections on November 3. Zelensky ended a three-day pause and on October 15 ordered strikes on oil refineries to resume.

From October 14, Starshield — the military version of Starlink — began cutting off connectivity to drones flying faster than 160 km/h. According to Zelensky, this restriction prevents Ukrainian interceptor drones from shooting down Russian jet-powered unmanned aircraft. On October 17, he described these restrictions as a “planned operation” and noted that testing in EU countries had not revealed such a limitation.

Elon Musk stated that speed restrictions are set by the US military and “ultimately the president of the United States.” A US representative told the BBC that Trump had never made such a request. In addition, Trump has suspended the introduction of a new package of sanctions against Russia for up to 60 days.

Signs of a partial thaw

On October 18, Zelensky told NBC that intelligence sharing with the United States had resumed and expressed hope that talks could take place that same week. His office reported that he had spoken with Trump’s envoys that same day.

At the same time, Zelensky expressed doubt about Washington’s ability to influence Moscow:

“I think the US president genuinely has a good relationship with Putin. But something here is not working. Right now, Trump cannot make Putin stop the war.”