Zelensky Says He Feels "Betrayed" by Trump Over Russian Diesel Deal
KYIV/WASHINGTON — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday that he feels "betrayed" by U.S. President Donald Trump after Washington struck a deal to import Russian diesel fuel, accusing the American leader of choosing the wrong side in the war.
Asked by British host Piers Morgan on "Piers Morgan Uncensored" whether he had been betrayed by the Trump administration, Zelensky answered simply: "Yes." Clips from the half-hour interview were released Wednesday and are expected to air in full soon.
"It's a pity that we are losing a strong partner," Zelensky told Morgan, adding that Kyiv was not to blame. "Our country is not for sale."
Last week, Trump announced on social media that Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to supply Russian diesel to markets as part of a U.S. push to bring down energy costs ahead of the midterm elections. The move drew bipartisan criticism at home and angered European allies, marking a sharp shift from the U.S. ban on Russian petroleum imports imposed after the 2022 invasion.
Zelensky said the deal handed Putin an "easy victory" and warned Trump that neutrality has limits. "If you're in the middle, you have to stay in the middle. Not on the wrong side," he said. "This is not the right side of history." He also said he believes Trump's advisers are "wrong" about the course they are pushing.
The interview aired days after Trump announced on Truth Social that an "energy ceasefire" between Russia and Ukraine had taken effect — a claim neither Moscow nor Kyiv confirmed. Ukrainian officials said they had never heard of any such agreement.
Since then, Russia has pounded Ukrainian cities. Zelensky said overnight strikes used 39 ballistic missiles and more than 120 attack drones against energy and critical infrastructure in Kyiv, the Kyiv region, and Kharkiv, leaving some 600,000 people without power. Six people were killed in the western city of Lutsk, according to regional officials.
Zelensky called the Russian attacks "ostentatious disrespect" toward Trump's ceasefire call and pleaded for a forceful international response, urging Washington to "remember" that "peace can only come through strength."
In the same interview, Zelensky accused Elon Musk's SpaceX of restricting Ukrainian access to the Starlink satellite system during the attacks. Ukrainian military officials said on Wednesday that military-grade Starlink terminals were throttled without warning while moving at high speed, disrupting drone missions — a claim Reuters independently reported. SpaceX did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that relations between Trump and Zelensky had sunk to their lowest point since their February 2025 clash in the White House. Trump has publicly called on Kyiv to halt attacks on Russian refineries — strikes the White House says undercut his energy-price strategy — and suggested Ukrainians should replace their wartime leader, a view Musk echoed on X.
The Trump administration has also warned that continued Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy facilities could cost Kyiv U.S. intelligence sharing and European purchases of American weapons, according to CNN.
For Zelensky, the trajectory is personal. "Our country has to survive," he told Morgan. "For us, this is not a matter of business — because these are our lives, our country, our home and our children."
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