Skip to content
Sign in
Geopolitics · Europe

Zelensky says he still trusts Trump despite US-Russia diesel deal

Volodymyr Zelensky told NBC News that Ukraine wants to trust Donald Trump and hopes the US president will change his decisions. Zelensky also said he spoke with US envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on Sunday as part of continued communication aimed at peace.

AI-assisted synthesis · Based on 4 outlets' reporting · Article text read from 2 of 4 outletsHow it's made

View timeline · 10 entries
4 outletsLatest reporting 3 min read
Coverage: Center OnlyL 0 · C 3 · R 0 · 1 unrated
Updat3 graphic: Russia
Updat3 graphic · Map data: Natural Earth Natural Earth (public domain)

What happened

Key facts

  • Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine trusts the US and hopes Donald Trump will change his decisions (per The Hill, kake.com, meaww.com).
  • Zelensky told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that the US siding with Russia would be a “historic mistake.” (per kake.com).
  • Zelensky said he spoke with US envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on Sunday as part of ongoing communication toward peace (per kake.com, meaww.com).
  • Zelensky said, “We want to trust him,” referring to Trump (per meaww.com, kake.com).
  • Ukrainian authorities said Russian missile and drone attacks killed 11 people and injured nearly 50 across Ukraine in the 24 hours to Sunday morning (per kake.com).
  • Zelensky wrote on X that Russia had attacked Ukraine’s energy and oil and gas sectors 76 times since the US president announced an energy ceasefire a week earlier (per kake.com).
CASUALTIES
Reported and attributed figures — not independently verified by Updat3
The figures cover the 24 hours to Sunday morning and are attributed to Ukrainian authorities. The source says nearly 50 injured, so the exact number is not stated.
Russian forcesReported by officials
11 killed · 50 injured
Attributed to: Ukrainian authorities attributed the deaths and injuries across Ukraine to Russian missile and drone attacks; they reported nearly 50 injured.

The brief

Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine wants to trust Donald Trump, while urging the US president to change his decisions. In an interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” Zelensky warned that the United States siding with Russia would be a “historic mistake,” framing continued US support as central to his appeal.

Zelensky also said he spoke on Sunday with US envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law. He described the exchanges as part of ongoing communication directed toward peace. The account does not specify what the three discussed or report an outcome from those conversations. The trust question also connects to Starlink access.

Ukrainian officials believed, Zelensky told the host, that the decision to restrict the satellite service operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX followed a message from the US government. That is the Ukrainian officials’ account of the decision’s origin; the excerpt does not provide a US explanation or independently establish the sequence.

The coverage places Zelensky’s comments alongside competing accounts of military activity. Russia’s defense ministry said its forces shot down 1,015 Ukrainian drones overnight into Sunday across various parts of the country. A resident of St. Petersburg told CNN that a drone was shot down nearby and described a flash and a shaking impact.

The account does not independently verify the Russian ministry’s total. Ukrainian authorities said Russian missile and drone attacks killed 11 people and injured nearly 50 across Ukraine in the 24 hours to Sunday morning. They also described a major attack on energy facilities in the Odesa region.

Those casualty figures and the description of the attack come from Ukrainian authorities. Zelensky separately wrote on X that Russia had attacked Ukraine’s energy, oil and gas sectors 76 times since Trump announced an energy ceasefire a week earlier. This is Zelensky’s stated count and characterization; the account gives no independent verification of the number.

The reported damage and continued attacks form the immediate backdrop to his efforts to maintain US communication while asking Trump to alter policy decisions. The Hill’s headline also reports Zelensky’s statement about trust and his hope for a change in Trump’s decisions.

Newsweek’s headline says a Trump official warned Zelensky over a US intelligence claim, but gives no further details in the headline. Together, the accounts identify trust, the Starlink restriction, and military and energy claims as elements of the debate over US-Ukraine relations, without establishing the official’s identity or the substance of the intelligence claim.

Why it matters

  • Ukrainian civilians bear the reported cost of Russian missile and drone attacks: Ukrainian authorities said 11 people were killed and nearly 50 injured across Ukraine in 24 hours.
  • Energy infrastructure is also at stake: Ukrainian authorities described a major attack on energy facilities in the Odesa region, while Zelensky counted 76 attacks on energy, oil and gas sectors since the announced ceasefire.
  • Access to Starlink, operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, is a specific point of friction: Ukrainian officials believed the restriction followed a message from the US government.
  • Zelensky’s discussions with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner show continued communication directed toward peace, even as he asks Trump to change decisions and warns against the US siding with Russia.

What to watch next

  • Whether Trump changes the decisions Zelensky urged him to reconsider.
  • Whether the US government explains the Starlink restriction and the message Ukrainian officials believe preceded it.
  • Whether Zelensky, Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner continue their communication toward peace.
  • Whether Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy, oil and gas sectors continue after the announced energy ceasefire.

How it's being covered

Coverage analysisShow details
4 source articles · 4 unique outlets
Outlet political mix: Center Only· 3 Center · 1 unrated
Where the outlets are based: US/Canada 75% · Unknown 25%
Outlet political mix
Center Only
Left
Center
Right
0 outlets
3 outlets
0 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.
4 unique outletsDominant coverage: US/Canada
Coverage imbalance
  • Coverage is currently concentrated among Center-rated outlets (3 of 3 rated sources); comparatively few Left or Right-rated outlets have published on the event.
  • Coverage is currently concentrated among outlets based in US/Canada (3 of 4 geographically-identified sources).
How we measure coverage

How outlets' accounts compare

5 framing differences · 3 uncorroborated claims · 6 information gaps
The reports repeat the same account with different emphasis; its central claims are not independently confirmed in the reporting Updat3 read.Compared across 2 reports whose article text Updat3 read; 2 other outlets were checked by headline only.
Framing / emphasis differences
Sources emphasise different angles, actors or consequences of the same reporting.
  • The Hill’s headline emphasizes Zelensky’s trust in the US and hope that Trump will change his decisions; kake.com foregrounds his warning that US alignment with Russia would be a “historic mistake” and adds his contact with Witkoff and Kushner.
  • news.meaww.com highlights Ukrainian officials’ belief that a US government message preceded the Starlink restriction, a detail not included in kake.com’s excerpt.
  • Ukrainian officials, as relayed by Zelensky, linked the Starlink restriction to a message from the US government; no US account appears in the excerpts.
  • Russia’s defense ministry claimed it shot down 1,015 Ukrainian drones, while Ukrainian authorities attributed the reported deaths and injuries to Russian missile and drone attacks.
  • Ukrainian officials believed the Starlink restriction followed a US government message, but the excerpt gives no US account or independent confirmation.
Updat3: These are differences of emphasis, not disputes about what is reported. They do not show that the reported claims are true.
One-sided or uncorroborated claims
Claims that come from one party or one source family and are not independently corroborated.
  • Zelensky said the US siding with Russia would be a “historic mistake.”
  • Zelensky said, “We want to trust him,” referring to Trump.
  • Zelensky said Russia had attacked Ukraine’s energy and oil and gas sectors 76 times after Trump announced an energy ceasefire.
Updat3: Not independently corroborated yet — treat as a claim, not an established fact.
Not established by the reporting
Information the available reporting does not contain or confirm. This is a gap, not a disagreement.
  • The sources do not specify which decisions Zelensky wants Trump to change.
  • The sources do not explain the terms or participants in the announced energy ceasefire.
  • The sources do not give the US government’s account of the Starlink restriction.
  • Newsweek’s headline mentions a warning from a Trump official about a US intelligence claim but does not identify the official or describe the claim.
  • Russia’s defense ministry reported shooting down 1,015 Ukrainian drones; the figure is not independently verified in the excerpt.
  • Ukrainian authorities’ report of 11 killed and nearly 50 injured and Zelensky’s count of 76 attacks on energy, oil and gas sectors are not independently verified in the excerpt.
Updat3: Updat3 cannot conclude anything about this from the current sources.

Timeline

Developments from this story's sources, dated background we compiled and fact-checked, and our earlier coverage. Each row says which.
  1. Ukraine, Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom signed the Budapest Memorandum.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  2. After mass protests known as Euromaidan, President Viktor Yanukovych left office in February 2014; Russia annexed Crimea the following month, a move condemned by Ukraine and many states.
    Background · from our historical context
  3. Russia declared Crimea part of Russia after taking control of the peninsula; Ukraine and many countries rejected the annexation.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  4. Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany agreed to the Minsk II package of measures for the Donbas.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  5. Russia launched its full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022.
    Background · from our historical context
  6. Volodymyr Zelensky presented Ukraine’s ten-point peace formula.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  7. Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky met at the White House; their planned minerals agreement was not signed.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  8. Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin discussed a proposed pause in attacks on energy infrastructure, and the White House said Putin had agreed to it.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  9. President Donald Trump signed the Graham Act, which included sanctions and tariffs intended to increase pressure on Russia.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  10. President Donald Trump announced an immediate energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3

How we got here

In 2026, a US-announced energy ceasefire created a diplomatic framework for discussing attacks on energy infrastructure, against the background of Russia’s continuing war in Ukraine. The 2022 invasion had already made military aid, sanctions and negotiations central to the relationship between Kyiv and Washington.

In February 2022, the United States and its allies imposed sanctions on Russia and supplied Ukraine with military and economic assistance; those policies became a major point of contention in later efforts to negotiate an end to the war.

Original sources

3 of 4 articles · US/Canada · Show all

Every story links to the reporting it was built from. How we choose sources

Spotted a factual error, a broken link or a misleading summary? Tell us.