According to a report by the American media website Mediaite, U.S. President Donald Trump once again criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during an interview with the conservative media channel Newsmax on October 15. He said, "I don't like Zelenskyy," and noted that Zelenskyy is more difficult to deal with than Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Earlier that day, Ukraine announced the resumption of attacks on Russian refineries, stating that Russia had not complied with the "energy ceasefire" arrangement declared by Trump, and continued to attack Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
During the interview, Newsmax host Rob Finnerty mentioned the reoccupation of Russian energy facilities by Ukraine and asked Trump, "I remember you once asked President Zeleny to not do this."
Trump replied, "Yes, I have asked. Zelenskyy is not a person with whom it’s easy to deal."
Fenaditi asked, “Have you lost confidence in him?”
Trump said, “I think they will eventually reach some kind of agreement, but not under his leadership. He doesn’t want to make an agreement. He says he wants to reach an agreement, but actually he doesn’t. I don’t like Zelenskyy. They have destroyed that country.”
Subsequently, Trump attributed a portion of responsibility for the war to former President Obama, and mentioned that Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 took place during Obama's tenure.
"If the U.S. elections were not manipulated, this war would never have happened. That’s what’s most tragic… Ukraine has lost so many soldiers, and Russia has also lost many. But Russia is a large country with a vast territory," said Trump.
Fenatidi asked, "Can this war be ended before you leave your post?"
Trump replied, "It should be over soon. I think both sides actually want to end the war. But I find that Zelensky is more difficult to deal with than Putin."
