Trump calls Ukraine's renewed refinery strikes a "disgrace" and says Zelensky is harder to deal with than Putin

What Trump said

U.S. President Donald Trump has called Ukraine's renewed strikes on Russian oil refineries a "disgrace," escalating his public criticism of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky just ahead of Friday's EU leaders' summit in Brussels.

"All he's doing is making the world oil price higher. Well, I think that's a disgrace," Trump said in an interview with Newsmax published Thursday. He argued that striking diesel refineries hurts the world because the fuel is needed globally.

Trump also renewed his criticism of the Ukrainian leader personally, telling Newsmax, "I think I find Zelensky to be more difficult to deal with than Putin," the Guardian reported.

The ceasefire that never was

The comments come days after Ukraine resumed drone attacks on Russian energy infrastructure. Kyiv had paused the strikes after Trump announced an energy ceasefire on Sunday — one neither Ukraine nor Russia confirmed agreeing to — while Russia continued striking Ukrainian targets.

On Thursday, Zelensky told the Financial Times that the pause was "done," and soon after a drone strike hit a Rosneft refinery in Ryazan that accounts for about 5% of Russia's total refinery throughput, OilPrice reported.

What it means for Canada

For Canadians, the stakes are direct: renewed strikes on refineries deepen a global diesel supply crunch already straining fuel prices, and any escalation ripples into energy costs ahead of winter. Canada has backed Ukraine's war effort since 2022, and its large Ukrainian-Canadian community is watching the fraying Washington relationship closely.

Zelensky met NATO chief Mark Rutte in Brussels on Thursday and held a string of bilateral meetings with European leaders ahead of Friday's EU summit, where energy, the stalled truce and further aid are on the agenda, the BBC reported.