Trump again harshly criticizes Zelensky, says war won’t end with him

U.S. President Donald Trump sharply criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in an interview with Newsmax, saying he is not seeking a peaceful settlement, and called strikes on oil refineries a “disgrace.”

When asked by a journalist whether he had asked Zelensky to stop the strikes on refineries, Trump answered affirmatively and added that the Ukrainian president is “not someone we’re comfortable dealing with.”

“He doesn’t want to make a deal. He says he wants to make a deal, but he doesn’t. No, I’m not a big fan of Zelensky. They’ve destroyed this country. I think Zelensky is harder for me to deal with than Putin. I want Zelensky to stop, and I want Putin to stop. Now, if you’re telling me that Zelensky is shooting at refineries again, all he’s doing is raising world oil prices. Well, I think that’s a disgrace. There are a lot of other targets,” Trump said.

When asked whether he had lost trust in Zelensky, the American president replied that if the parties do reach any settlement, it will be “not with him.” Trump also spoke about the need to hold elections in Ukraine.

“Frankly, I think Zelensky has been president too long. And I think it’s time, if they want to settle this,” Trump said.

Trump also touched on the subject of the human resources of the two countries, pointing to a fundamental imbalance between Russia and Ukraine.

“Russia is a massive country, and it can lose a million men, and after that it will still have millions more. Ukraine doesn’t have that kind of manpower,” he said.

To support his position, Trump quoted an interview that he said he had recently watched. It concerned a “young woman from Ukraine” — apparently Yulia Mendel.

“President Zelensky has destroyed our country. President Zelensky has taken our men from us. Our men have no legs, no arms. Our men in many cases are in psychiatric institutions or they are dead,” Trump quoted from that interview.

Earlier, the editors analyzed what Zelensky’s refusal to stop strikes on refineries means and what the consequences of that decision could be.