Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that the United States formally allying with Russia’s Vladimir Putin would be a “historic mistake,” but said he still sees President Donald Trump as an ally despite a series of moves that have unsettled his country and his friends on Capitol Hill. “We want to trust him,” Zelenskyy told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on Sunday, referring to Trump. “I hope he changes his decisions, because I think they are all mistakes and they will not help us or help the United States.” Trump on Friday waived sweeping new sanctions against Russia passed by Congress, saying in an executive order that the move “is in the national interest of the United States.” Passed with bipartisan support and signed by Trump last month, the sanctions were intended to target Russia’s revenue streams by punishing global buyers of Russian oil and gas. The exemption came days after a deal with Putin to release hundreds of thousands of tons of Russian diesel fuel onto the global market as fuel prices soar. At the same time, Zelenskyy said, U.S. intelligence sharing was briefly “blocked,” blinding Ukraine to incoming ballistic missiles, while limits have been placed on Starlink technology critical to intercept. aircraft-powered drones. Zelenskyy told moderator Kristen Welker that Ukrainian officials believe the decision to limit Starlink, imposed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, came in response to a “message from the US government.” The Ukrainian leader was “more difficult to deal with than Putin,” Zelenskyy said he was “very honest” with Trump. “It may not be very polite,” he said, but it is “better to have partners who are very open and clear than to have those who are murderous, even with a smile on their face.” Zelenskyy, who accused the United States of betraying kyiv last week, said his feelings have not changed. He warned that Trump’s diesel deal with Russia “will strengthen Putin in his willingness to take care of us.” In announcing the deal last week, Trump expressed hopes that it would go some way to addressing rising fuel costs. But Zelenskyy said the deal would have “no real influence” on the price of oil in the U.S. because the rise in prices was due to the Strait of Hormuz blockade, not Ukraine. “I don’t know all the reasons why President Trump makes such deals,” he said. Siding more formally with Russia, he said: “If these two countries are together… we will not prevail and we will not be able to stand firm.” Zelenskyy said it was a “shame” that Trump had waived sanctions in a bill named after the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who he said was “a big supporter of peace and Ukraine.” “He invested his life and his time because he really believed in Ukraine,” he said. In a separate interview on “Meet the Press,” Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., defended Trump’s decision to lift sanctions on Russia. “You’re trying to strike this delicate balance between trying to be able to pressure Russia, but also being able to help the American people, so what you’re doing is choosing the American people first,” Lankford said, pointing to high gas prices. Asked if Trump’s actions indicate the president is on Putin’s side, Lankford said Trump was “on the side of the free people of Ukraine,” later adding that Trump was working to get the two countries “to the table so we can negotiate.” Trump had promised to end the conflict within days of his second term, but peace talks have effectively stalled, with Ukraine saying Russia has rejected a short-term ceasefire and that Putin’s peace terms amount to total surrender. Meanwhile, another difficult winter lies ahead for Ukrainian civilians, with a critical ammunition shortage limiting Zelenskyy’s ability to defend infrastructure against Russian attacks. Zelenskyy said he was due to speak to US negotiators by phone later on Sunday and that there was still hope for a meeting in the coming days. “I’m very open to this, even with all the difficult circumstances,” he said. He cited some developments after a days-long disruption to U.S. intelligence on incoming Russian ballistic missiles, which he said have now been “unlocked.” “We are very grateful for this,” he said. “Now it works.” European and Ukrainian officials previously told NBC News they believed a move to limit intelligence sharing, which came just days after Trump eased sanctions on Russia, was likely aimed at pressuring kyiv to make concessions at the negotiating table amid a deadlock in peace talks. While Zelenskyy indicated that the intelligence issue has been resolved, he said Ukraine still faces an ongoing speed restriction on its use of Starshield, the military version of the Starlink service. Asked whether he thought Trump or Musk had directly made the decision to limit Starlink, Zelenskyy said he didn’t know but thought “both” were involved. He said that if Trump decides tomorrow to lift the restriction, “it will work immediately as before.” The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
