The Trump administration
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Trump says Zelensky is 'not the person' the US should be dealing with, calls Ukrainian refinery strikes 'a disgrace'
In a Newsmax interview published on October 15, US President Donald Trump publicly broke with Volodymyr Zelensky, saying he is "not a big fan" of the Ukrainian president and that Zelensky "is not the person we should be dealing with." Trump said it is harder to negotiate with Zelensky than with Vladimir Putin, demanded Ukraine halt strikes on Russian oil refineries, called such strikes "a disgrace," and repeated his call for Ukrainian elections. Zelensky responded in Brussels the following day, saying he finds it easier to deal with Trump than with Putin and that Ukraine is ready to hold elections if Russia accepts a 60-day ceasefire.