Zelensky says Trump is pushing Ukraine to "capitulate" — and warns of "dangerous days" before the midterms

"But that is what it seems"

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday it appears U.S. President Donald Trump is trying to push Ukraine toward capitulation to Russia, in an interview with Bloomberg published Sunday and reported by Democracta and aggregated by Scoop from Bloomberg Markets.

"I believe that steps have been taken to convince Ukraine to capitulate," Zelenskyy said. "I am not saying that this is the goal of our allies. I do not want to think that our American allies could end sooner at the expense of Ukraine. But that is what it seems."

Zelenskyy pointed to two decisions: Washington's deal to acquire Russian diesel — which he previously called a "birthday gift" to Vladimir Putin — and what he described as a slowdown in U.S. military aid. He said the United States currently sends Ukraine only twelve Patriot interceptor missiles a month, a quarter of the shipments under the Biden administration. "We have paid for those weapons," he said. "Part of the deliveries are already authorized, but the rest are not and it is not a technical issue."

A reciprocal offer

Zelenskyy told Washington that Kyiv would be willing to stop attacks on Russian oil refineries — which Trump has demanded — if the flow of Patriot missiles is accelerated to protect Ukraine's energy infrastructure. "But they only want us to stop attacking the diesel and if we attack, they disconnect us from something," he said.

He also warned of "dangerous days" ahead of the U.S. midterm elections on November 3, adding: "But after the elections, life goes on and I believe it will be calmer."

The other side of the table

Trump has not directly responded to the interview. On Saturday, at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, he said he had not yet made a final decision on the Russia sanctions measures under review, and on Sunday he wrote on Truth Social that waiving the measures was aimed at keeping Moscow engaged: "I am in the process of negotiating Peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine, and don't want to do anything that will drive, foolishly, Russia away from the bargaining table," according to a Reuters live update via AnewZ.

Separately, in an ABC News interview aired Sunday, Zelenskyy responded to Trump's earlier call for Ukraine to replace him as leader, saying the choice of Ukraine's president was "up to our society, up to our people," and offered that Ukraine could hold elections if Russia agreed to a 60-day ceasefire: "Please tell Putin give us two months, 60 days of total ceasefire, 60 days, and we will organize elections," AsiaNewsHub reported.

For Canada — home to one of the world's largest Ukrainian diasporas and one of Kyiv's staunchest backers — the public rupture between Washington and Kyiv raises the pressure on Ottawa and European allies to hold the line on support if U.S. backing continues to waver.