--- title: "\"Zelenskyy is not the right person to deal with\": Trump criticizes Ukrainian president in Newsmax interview amid resumed refinery strikes" description: "In a Newsmax interview, Donald Trump stated that Zelenskyy is not the right person to deal with regarding halting refinery strikes and that it is easier to make a deal with Putin. The conversation took place amid the resumption of attacks on October 15." date: 2026-10-16T01:29:45.328Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/trump-zelenskyy-wrong-person-for-negotiations-newsmax tags: [trump, zelensky, ukraine-war, newsmax-interview, russian-refineries, us-ukraine-relations, putin, ceasefire] author: "Alexander Buran" publisher: "XAB.info" --- # "Zelenskyy is not the right person to deal with": Trump criticizes Ukrainian president in Newsmax interview amid resumed refinery strikes ![Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. President Donald Trump during a meeting at the White House](https://xab.info/media/2026/10/16/trump-velensky-ne-tot-chelovek-dlya-peregovorov-newsmax/trump-velensky-ne-tot-chelovek-dlya-peregovorov-newsmax-1.webp) ## Key Points - Trump told Newsmax that Zelenskyy is "not the right person to deal with" regarding halting strikes on Russian oil refineries - The U.S. president stated that it is easier to make a deal with Putin than with Zelenskyy and accused the Ukrainian leader of being unwilling to negotiate - Trump repeated the narrative of a "short war" and the "general who didn't turn down the country road," and stated that the war "should end soon" - The interview was given amid the resumption of strikes by Ukrainian forces on Russian oil refineries starting October 15, 2026 U.S. President Donald Trump, in an interview with the Newsmax television channel published on October 16, 2026, strongly criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The American leader stated that Zelenskyy is "not the right person for us to deal with" regarding agreements to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries. According to Trump, it is significantly easier to reach an agreement with Vladimir Putin, whom he also referred to as a "dictator" in the same interview. This was reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing a recording of the White House chief's conversation with the Newsmax host. ### Resumption of Refinery Strikes and Trump’s "Request" During the conversation, the Newsmax host noted that starting October 15, Ukraine resumed strikes on Russian oil refining enterprises. The host also suggested that Trump had previously asked Zelenskyy to refrain from such actions. The American president confirmed that he had approached the Ukrainian leader with such a request, but stated that Zelenskyy is "not the person you need to deal with." Trump reiterated his thesis that the Ukrainian president allegedly does not want to reach a deal: "He says he wants to make a deal, but he doesn't really want to," he stated, adding that he is not "a big fan of Zelenskyy" and accusing the Ukrainian side of having "destroyed their country." ### "Hatred" Between Zelenskyy and Putin as a Barrier to Negotiations Trump once again repeated his persistent thesis that a personal "hatred" exists between Zelenskyy and Putin, which hinders the development of the negotiation process. He also reiterated that had he been president in 2020, the war would not have begun. According to the American leader, it is precisely the personal antagonisms of the two leaders that make reaching an agreement impossible, whereas, in his words, "it's easier to make a deal" with Putin. Thus, Trump effectively shifts the responsibility for derailing the negotiation track onto Zelenskyy, labeling him a non-constructive partner. ### "The General Who Didn't Turn Down the Country Road": Trump’s Narrative on the Start of the War A special place in the interview was occupied by Trump's account of the reasons why the war, in his words, "should have been very short." The American president once again reproduced his narrative that a certain general failed to turn down a country road in time, causing Russian tanks to "get stuck in the mud" and halting the offensive on Kyiv. "So they got lucky, I suppose," Trump commented, adding that "five years have passed and Ukraine has lost a massive number" of people. At the same time, he noted that Russia also suffered losses, but "Russia is a huge country with 150 million people," which, according to his logic, makes Ukrainian losses more significant proportionally. ### Timetable for Ending the War: "It should end soon" To a direct question from the host about whether the war would end before the end of his presidential term, Trump replied that the conflict would conclude "very soon." "I think actually both sides would like to see it end," he stated, but once again emphasized that "it's harder to make a deal with Zelenskyy than with Putin." Thus, in the Newsmax interview, Trump formed a cohesive yet one-sided picture: he simultaneously accuses Zelenskyy of being unwilling to negotiate, calls him a non-constructive partner, retells the established narrative about a "short war" and the "mud" near Kyiv, and then concludes that the war "should end soon" without disclosing specific mechanisms or conditions for such an ending. The interview was published on the day when, according to the Ukrainian side, strikes on Russian oil refineries resumed after a brief pause. Trump's statement, made against this backdrop, is perceived in Kyiv as additional pressure on Ukraine's negotiating position and as public support for Moscow's line on halting attacks on energy infrastructure. There has been no official reaction from Kyiv to Trump's remarks at the time of publication. ## Fact-Check & Sources - [Зеленский не тот человек, с кем стоит иметь дело, - Трамп](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/zelenskiy-ta-lyudina-kim-varto-mati-spravu-1792113465.html) - RBC-Ukraine publishes direct quotes from Trump's Newsmax interview. All key theses of the article (assessment of Zelenskyy, the "short war" narrative, statements on the timeline of the conflict's end) are confirmed by the source text. The date of the refinery strikes' resumption (October 15) is indicated in the host's question and matches the current publication date (October 16, 2026). ## FAQ ### What exactly did Trump say about Zelenskyy in the Newsmax interview? Trump stated that Zelenskyy is "not the right person for us to deal with" in the context of an agreement to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries. He also claimed that Zelenskyy "doesn't want to make a deal" and that it is easier to deal with Putin. ### When did Ukraine's strikes on Russian refineries resume? According to the Newsmax host mentioned in the interview, starting October 15, 2026, Ukraine resumed strikes on Russian oil refining enterprises. ### What did Trump say about the timeline for ending the war? Trump stated that the war "should end soon," that "both sides would like to see it end," but emphasized that "it's harder to make a deal with Zelenskyy than with Putin." ### What narrative about the start of the war did Trump reproduce in the interview? Trump repeated his persistent thesis that the war "should have been very short" and spoke about "the general who didn't turn down the country road in time," which he claimed caused Russian tanks to "get stuck in the mud" and stopped the offensive on Kyiv.