Trump Accuses Zelenskyy of Not Wanting to End War as Feud Continues
Trump defends a sanctions waiver as Ukraine and Russia trade major strikes and Lithuania reports an alleged attack on a Starlink site
By AXY War & Crime Desk ·
Key points
- Trump defended waiving some Russia sanctions and paused a sweeping new sanctions package by executive order signed on Friday.
- Trump accused Zelenskyy of not wanting to end the war, while Zelenskyy claimed the US had throttled Starlink access to send a message to Kyiv.
- Lithuania’s prime minister said Russia was likely behind an attempted arson attack on a company hosting Starlink equipment, a claim that has not been independently confirmed.
- Ukrainian drone strikes hit an oil export terminal and depot in St Petersburg, killing one person, while a Russian strike killed one person in Kyiv.
- Russian diesel shipments to the US could take 15 to 20 days to arrive once contracts are signed, but no signing date has been announced.
US President Donald Trump has defended his decision to waive some sanctions on Russia and renewed his criticism of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying Zelenskyy does not want to end the war. In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: “My decision on Russia is a very simple one. I am in the process of negotiating Peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine, and don’t want to do anything that will drive, foolishly, Russia away from the bargaining table.” He added: “Zelenskyy doesn’t care, and frankly, with all of the money that Europe is famously giving him … he doesn’t want to end this war, and probably never did.” His remarks came after he signed an executive order on Friday putting on hold a sweeping new sanctions package targeting the Russian economy. The statements were made on day 1,699 of the war, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Why the sanctions decision matters
Sanctions are economic penalties, such as restrictions on trade, banking and energy sales, that governments use to pressure another country. Western governments have used them against Russia since its 2022 invasion, and they are designed to reduce the money Moscow can use to fund its military. A sanctions package is a set of new measures introduced together, and putting one on hold means the measures are not enforced for now, which can be reversed later. A waiver is a formal exemption that allows a specific transaction that would otherwise be banned to go ahead.
Trump’s argument, as he set it out in his post, is that tougher measures could push Moscow away from negotiations. Critics of this approach say that easing pressure on Russia while fighting continues can weaken Ukraine’s bargaining position and reward a government that is still attacking cities and energy facilities. Supporters of a negotiated settlement argue that keeping a channel open is necessary, even if it means accepting uncomfortable short-term compromises. Analysts following the talks say the balance between pressure and dialogue has been one of the hardest questions for Washington and its European partners to settle.
The decision also has a domestic economic dimension. Trump announced last week an agreement with Moscow to ship Russian diesel to the United States, which he presented as a way to lower fuel prices for American consumers. That timing matters because the US midterm elections are approaching, and energy costs are a sensitive issue for voters. Analysts expect fuel prices to be closely watched by both parties as the election nears, which could make energy policy and Russia policy harder to separate in public debate.
The feud between Trump and Zelenskyy
Earlier on Sunday, Zelenskyy thanked the Trump administration for resuming intelligence sharing between the two countries. In the same remarks, he said the United States had intentionally throttled its Starlink satellite internet access to send a “message” to Kyiv. Starlink is a satellite internet service operated by SpaceX, and it has become an important communications tool for Ukraine’s military and civilian institutions since the invasion. Throttling means deliberately slowing or limiting a connection, and an allegation that a government or company has done this for political reasons would be a serious matter if confirmed.
The exchange is the latest sign of strain in relations between the two leaders. Trump has repeatedly suggested that Zelenskyy is not serious about ending the war, while Kyiv has insisted it wants a durable peace that does not reward Russian aggression. Intelligence sharing and access to satellite communications are both critical to Ukraine’s defence, so disputes over them carry practical as well as political weight. The source material does not include a US response to the throttling allegation, and that gap is important for readers trying to assess the claim.
Sabotage claims around Starlink in Lithuania, Poland and Bulgaria
Lithuania said Russia was likely behind an attempted arson attack on a company that hosts communications hardware for Starlink satellites. Prime minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius made the claim on the broadcaster LRT after authorities discovered flammable liquids at the company. Sinkevicius said the firm, whose location he did not disclose, houses “nine satellite antennas to guarantee the Starlink connection, which of course supports and assists Ukraine.” He added: “It is obvious this is part of the hybrid war being waged by Russia, involving acts of sabotage.”
Hybrid war is a term used by European governments and security analysts for hostile activity that stops short of conventional armed conflict. It can include sabotage, cyberattacks, disinformation and interference with infrastructure, often carried out in ways that are hard to attribute with certainty. This is why officials frequently describe incidents as likely or suspected rather than proven. The Lithuanian claim is a suspicion made by a government, not a finding by a court or an independent investigation.
The Lithuanian case is not isolated in the source material. In September, a satellite station belonging to the Starlink network, located in central Poland, was set ablaze, and Warsaw claimed sabotage. In Bulgaria, an investigation is under way after claims that antennas linked to the Starlink network were set on fire. Taken together, these incidents suggest a pattern that European governments are concerned about, though the source material does not establish who was responsible in each case.
Strikes on Russian oil and technology sites
Ukrainian strikes set an oil export terminal and a depot ablaze in St Petersburg on Sunday, as Kyiv launched more than 1,000 drones at Russia in one of its largest aerial attacks of the war. Officials said one person was killed and five others were wounded. The attack sparked fires at the Petersburg oil terminal and the city’s Ruchi oil depot. Oil export terminals are important because they handle the fuel that generates export revenue for Russia, so strikes on them can affect both fuel supply and the income that funds the state budget.
A logistics centre belonging to the Russian retailer Ozon and a datacentre operated by the Russian technology company VK were also targeted, and both companies confirmed the attacks. Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had destroyed 1,015 Ukrainian drones over 15 Russian regions, the annexed Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea and the Black Sea. These figures come from the Russian ministry and have not been independently verified in the source material.
The scale of the drone campaign is significant. Long-range drones allow Ukraine to strike targets far from the front line, and the attacks on energy and industrial sites are part of a broader effort to raise the costs of the war for Moscow. Analysts note that such strikes can also have consequences for global energy markets, which is one reason they draw attention beyond the region.
Civilian casualties and the laws of war
Russian strikes also caused harm in Ukraine. Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram early on Monday that a Russian air strike had killed one person and injured two overnight. He said a medical facility and a non-residential building were damaged. Attacks on hospitals and civilian buildings are a central concern for human rights groups and international lawyers.
Under international humanitarian law, which governs the conduct of armed conflict, parties must distinguish between military targets and civilian objects, and attacks that cause disproportionate harm to civilians are prohibited. Whether any specific strike breaches these rules depends on facts about the target, the warning given and the harm caused, and such determinations usually require detailed investigation. The source material does not contain any finding that a specific attack was unlawful, and this report does not make that judgement. It is worth noting, however, that the rules apply to both sides, which is why strikes on both Russian energy and technology sites and Ukrainian cities are subject to scrutiny.
A suspected drone also exploded over Lithuania after triggering an alert that forced residents in northern and central areas to seek shelter for an hour on Sunday, officials said. Ukraine’s foreign ministry later said it regretted the incident in Lithuania’s airspace and said it may have resulted from Russian electronic warfare diverting drones off course. Electronic warfare refers to the use of signals jamming and interference to disrupt drones and communications. Lithuanian defence minister Robertas Kaunas told reporters the object had flown into Lithuanian airspace from Poland. The source material does not state which country’s drone it was, and Ukraine’s explanation is a claim that has not been independently confirmed.
What to watch next
Several developments will determine whether the current tensions ease or deepen. The first is the signing of contracts for Russian diesel shipments to the United States. Alexander Novak, Russia’s deputy prime minister for energy, said negotiations on commercial terms were under way and that fuel would reach the US market within 15 to 20 days once contracts were signed, but no signing date has been announced.
The second is the status of the sanctions package that Trump has put on hold. Whether it is revived, modified or dropped will signal how Washington is weighing pressure on Moscow against its wider peace effort. The third is whether the US responds to Zelenskyy’s claim about Starlink access, and whether the intelligence sharing that has resumed continues without interruption.
Finally, investigations into the sabotage incidents in Lithuania, Poland and Bulgaria will be closely followed in European capitals. Any official finding that Russia was responsible would intensify debate about how the continent should respond to hybrid attacks. For now, the outcome of peace negotiations remains uncertain, and the combination of diplomatic disputes, economic pressure and military strikes suggests the conflict will continue to shape both security and energy policy in the coming weeks.
Questions and answers
Why did Trump defend waiving some sanctions on Russia?
Trump said in a Truth Social post that he is negotiating peace between Russia and Ukraine and does not want to take steps that could drive Russia away from the bargaining table. He signed an executive order on Friday putting on hold a sweeping new sanctions package.
What did Zelenskyy say about Starlink?
Zelenskyy thanked the Trump administration for resuming intelligence sharing but maintained that the US had intentionally throttled its Starlink satellite internet access to send a message to Kyiv.
What happened in Lithuania involving Starlink?
Lithuania’s prime minister said authorities found flammable liquids at a company hosting Starlink communications hardware and that Russia was likely behind the attempted arson. The claim has not been independently confirmed in the source material.
What happened in St Petersburg?
Ukrainian strikes set an oil export terminal and a depot ablaze in St Petersburg on Sunday, killing one person and wounding five others, according to officials, as part of a drone attack of more than 1,000 drones.
Topics: Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Russia-Ukraine war, Russia sanctions, Starlink, Lithuania, St Petersburg
Sources: The Guardian Ukraine