Trump Says Zelensky Never Wanted to End the War

US President Donald Trump accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday, October 18, of never wanting to end Russia's war against Ukraine. Trump made the claim in a post on his social network Truth Social.

"Zelensky is using diesel refineries in Russia as targets, knowing that these attacks seriously hurt global diesel markets, including in the United States. Farmers, ranchers and businesses of all kinds are suffering badly from this, yet Russia still supplies millions of barrels of diesel to the world at a low price," Trump wrote.

"Zelensky doesn't care, and, frankly, with all the money Europe is known to give him, and which Joe Biden gave him in the past, he doesn't want to end this war and probably never did."

"A better deal" and talk of oceans

Trump said that two years ago Zelensky "could have made a better deal than he has now". He also again mentioned oceans that Ukraine had supposedly lost.

"His country lies in ruins, a large part of its territory is lost, its oceans and seas are gone, and its male population has been reduced, wounded and/or killed," Trump said.

Trump on negotiations and Iran

The US president said he is negotiating peace between Ukraine and Russia and does not want to do anything that would "foolishly push Russia away from the table". According to him, "significant progress" is being made, including in the current talks on hostages.

Trump also claimed that Russia is doing "very little, if anything" to help Iran, compared with what it could do. "And I want it to stay that way, and it will, unless foolish people get in the way," he added.

The post followed Zelensky's interview with Bloomberg earlier on Sunday, in which he accused Trump of trying to push Ukraine towards capitulation and of delaying deliveries of Patriot interceptor missiles. Read more in our politics section.