Trump condemns Ukranian attacks on Russian refineries, says he's "not a fan" of Zelensky

"I'm not a big fan of Zelensky ... I find Zelensky to be more difficult to deal with than Putin," Trump said.

Published: October 16, 2026 11:19am

Updated: October 16, 2026 11:23am

President Donald Trump called Ukraine's renewed attacks on Russian refineries a "disgrace" and warned they will result in higher fuel costs globally. 

“All he’s doing is making the world oil price higher. Well, I think that’s a disgrace,” Trump told Newsmax. 

The president said that the "world needs" the diesel from the refineries, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is "not doing a good service for the world." 

Trump said he had asked Zelensky not to attack the refineries, but he's "not a good guy for us to deal with. Biden gave him hundreds of billions of dollars." He said that he believes both sides of the conflict would want to see it come to an end, but claimed Zelensky is refusing to negotiate. 

"I'm not a big fan of Zelensky ... I find Zelensky to be more difficult to deal with than Putin," Trump said. 

Russian revenues from the sale of diesel and other refined petroleum products help the country fund its conflict with Ukraine, which has made the Russia's oil infrastructure attractive targets. 

 

 

 

 

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