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Trump says he is 'not a big fan' of Zelensky after Ukraine strikes Russian refineries, warns ceasefire failed

After Ukraine launched strikes on Russian oil refineries, President Donald Trump told Newsmax he is "not a big fan of Zelensky." Trump said the energy ceasefire he announced failed because Russia never agreed to it and he blamed former presidents for policy choices he said harmed U.S. interests.

AI-assisted synthesis · Based on 5 outlets' reporting · Article text read from 1 of 5 outletsHow it's made

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What happened

Key facts

  • President Donald Trump told Newsmax host Rob Finnerty "I'm not a big fan of Zelensky" after Ukraine launched new strikes on Russian oil refineries (per Washington Examiner).
  • Ukraine launched new strikes on Russian oil refineries (per Washington Examiner, South China Morning Post, New York Post).
  • Trump said "They've destroyed that country" when speaking about Ukraine (per Washington Examiner).
  • Trump announced an energy ceasefire earlier that week intended to prevent further attacks on Russian and Ukrainian energy infrastructure (per Washington Examiner).
  • Trump said the energy ceasefire "wasn't effective" because Russia never agreed to it (per Washington Examiner).
  • The Washington Examiner reported that Moscow carried out strikes on Kyiv for days after Trump announced the energy ceasefire on Sunday (per Washington Examiner).
  • The Washington Examiner quoted Trump saying "Zelensky is not a good guy for us to deal with," and that he blamed former President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama for past Ukraine policy decisions (per Washington Examiner).
  • Multiple headlines reported that Zelensky or Ukraine said they would resume or had resumed strikes on Russian refineries (per New York Post, Financial Times, South China Morning Post).

The brief

President Donald Trump told Newsmax host Rob Finnerty that he is "not a big fan of Zelensky" after Ukraine launched strikes on Russian oil refineries, the Washington Examiner reports.

In the interview cited by the Examiner, Trump described Ukraine as having "destroyed that country" and said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky "is not a good guy for us to deal with." The Examiner quoted Trump placing blame on former presidents for U.S. policy toward Ukraine, saying he faulted Joe Biden for providing large aid packages and Barack Obama for earlier decisions tied to Crimea.

The Washington Examiner said Trump had announced an "energy ceasefire" earlier in the week aimed at preventing further attacks on energy infrastructure in Russia and Ukraine. The Examiner reported that the ceasefire did not hold: it quotes Trump saying the ceasefire "wasn't effective" because, according to him, Russia never agreed to it.

The article also states that Moscow carried out strikes on Kyiv for days after Trump announced the ceasefire on Sunday, and that the truce has since ended. The article frames Trump’s remarks as a direct rebuke of Zelensky in the wake of renewed Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries.

Several headlines from other outlets reflect the same central development: that Ukraine resumed or carried out strikes on oil refineries in Russia. Those headlines include the South China Morning Post, the New York Post, Al Jazeera and the Financial Times, each noting in their headlines that strikes on refineries were occurring and that Trump criticised Zelensky.

The Examiner piece attributes to Trump both the announcement of a temporary energy ceasefire and his assessment that it failed because Russia did not accept it. It reports Trump’s view that Ukrainian actions and past U.S. administrations’ policies contributed to a difficult negotiating environment.

The Washington Examiner text includes direct quotations from Trump on his view of Zelensky and his characterisation of the state of Ukraine after the strikes. The available reporting does not provide casualty figures, operational details of the refinery strikes, nor direct comments from Ukrainian or Russian officials in the Examiner article.

Headlines from other outlets indicate Kyiv’s intent or action to resume strikes on refineries but the Examiner article is the sole source in this pack for Trump’s quoted remarks and for the description of the failed energy ceasefire.

Why it matters

  • Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure: the Washington Examiner reports strikes on Russian refineries and Trump said Ukraine has "destroyed that country," indicating damage to energy infrastructure that the article links to active military operations.
  • U.S. policy coherence: Trump told Newsmax he announced an energy ceasefire that "wasn't effective" because Russia never agreed, highlighting a claimed failure of a U.S.-announced measure that the article ties to ongoing strikes.
  • Political stakes for U.S.-Ukraine ties: the Examiner records Trump blaming former U.S. presidents and saying he is "not a big fan of Zelensky," a statement that signals potential friction in U.S.-Ukraine political relations as reported in the article.

What to watch next

  • Whether President Donald Trump or his administration issues further statements or clarifications about the energy ceasefire described in the Washington Examiner article.
  • Whether Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, comment publicly on the Washington Examiner’s account of renewed strikes on Russian refineries.
  • Whether Russian officials respond publicly to the reported refinery strikes and to the Washington Examiner’s claim that Moscow carried out strikes on Kyiv after the ceasefire announcement.

How it's being covered

Coverage analysisShow details
5 source articles · 5 unique outlets
Outlet political mix: Mixed· 2 Center · 2 Right · 1 unrated
Where the outlets are based: US/Canada 40% · Europe 20% · Other 40%
Outlet political mix
Mixed
Left
Center
Right
0 outlets
2 outlets
2 outlets
The marker shows coverage balance: each unique outlet counts once. 1 unrated outlet is not included.
Geography
Where the outlets covering this story are based.
5 unique outletsDominant coverage: US/Canada
How we measure coverage

How outlets' accounts compare

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Timeline

Developments from this story's sources, dated background we compiled and fact-checked, and our earlier coverage. Each row says which.
  1. Earlier that week (October 2026), President Donald Trump publicly announced an "energy ceasefire" intended to prevent attacks on Russian and Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
    Background · from our historical context

How we got here

Earlier that week (October 2026), President Donald Trump publicly announced an "energy ceasefire" intended to prevent attacks on Russian and Ukrainian energy infrastructure. The announcement followed months in which Western capitals, Kyiv and Moscow had negotiated informal understandings and public statements about avoiding strikes on civilian energy networks (2022–2026).

The institutional framework for current Western support to Ukraine traces to the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, in which Ukraine surrendered its Soviet-era nuclear arsenal in exchange for security assurances from the United States, the United Kingdom and Russia.

Original sources

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