Nothing Personal Between Me And Trump Over Russia Sanctions–Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said there is nothing personal between him and United States President Donald Trump despite growing tensions over Washington’s approach to Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Zelensky, however, warned that lifting sanctions against Russia would strengthen President Vladimir Putin and undermine efforts to end the war.

The Ukrainian president made the remarks in an interview with CNN in Kyiv on Thursday, following weeks of strained relations between Washington and Kyiv over sanctions, military assistance and diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict.

Relations between the two countries have deteriorated after Trump announced a deal to purchase Russian fuel, raising concerns in Ukraine that the US administration was moving closer to Moscow.

Trump subsequently waived some sanctions against Russia, attracting criticism, including from members of his Republican Party.

Ukraine’s military also experienced restrictions affecting its access to Starlink, the satellite internet service operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

Addressing the disagreement, Zelensky said the dispute was not about personalities but about the consequences of easing pressure on Russia.

“My attitude to Putin is very clear. I think that if we lift sanctions, we will make him stronger. It’s not something personal between me and President Trump, and of course I’m against of any lifting of sanctions.”

Zelensky spoke as Trump’s envoys intensified diplomatic efforts to negotiate an end to the four-and-a-half-year conflict.

On Wednesday, US special envoy Steve Witkoff held three hours of talks with Putin in St Petersburg, describing the Russian leader as a “humanitarian” following the release of 74-year-old American prisoner Stephen Hubbard.

Witkoff had met with Zelensky in Norway a day earlier.

Trump defended his administration’s decision not to tighten sanctions against Russia, arguing that doing so could have prevented Hubbard’s release and undermined negotiations to end the war.

“You could forget about him, you’d never see him again, he’d be back in jail for 25 years,” Trump said in response to a question from CNN’s Kaitlan Collins.

He added that imposing further sanctions while negotiations were ongoing could jeopardise the prospect of an agreement.

“When you’re close to a deal and you have delicate negotiations, you don’t put sanctions on.”

Zelensky described his meeting with Witkoff in Oslo as productive but expressed doubts about Putin’s willingness to end the war.

Following Witkoff’s visit, Putin agreed to hold talks in November, although few details were provided.

“Putin is playing, you know, he is a player,” Zelensky said.

“It’s a pity because he plays with the lives of other people, and of course he doesn’t want (to stop the war). So what we want from our partners (is) not to give him a possibility to be stronger and break us.”

Trump said on Wednesday that his administration was “the closest we’ve been” to securing a settlement to the war.

However, Russia launched hundreds of drones and ballistic missiles against Ukraine overnight, raising fresh concerns about Moscow’s commitment to a peaceful resolution.

Russia has maintained its demands for territorial concessions from Ukraine, with control of the eastern Donbas region remaining a major obstacle to a potential agreement.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that negotiations were largely focused on the future of the region, most of which is under Russian control.

“The fight now is really concentrated on what happens in the remainder of Donbas,” Rubio told reporters.

He added that “there’s been some creative ideas that have been put out there about how to resolve that difference.”

In his interview with CNN, Zelensky appeared open to the possibility of freezing the current frontlines as part of a ceasefire that would halt the fighting and allow negotiations to continue.

However, he ruled out Ukraine surrendering territory it currently controls to Russia and insisted that Kyiv would never recognise occupied Ukrainian territories as Russian.

“Our land is very important because it’s about people. It’s not about kilometers,” he said.

“A lot of people died defending this land, defending our independence, our country.”

“Nobody will recognize these territories, which are temporarily occupied, as Russian territories, and I think Russia understands it. It’s a pity if somebody doesn’t understand, but it’s up to them,” the Ukrainian president added.

There have been indications of a possible easing of tensions between Washington and Kyiv following Ukraine’s complaints about restrictions on intelligence sharing, disruptions to Starlink services and delays in weapons supplies.

Zelensky said earlier in the week that intelligence sharing had been restored.

However, he told CNN that Starshield, SpaceX’s military-grade satellite communications service, had not been fully restored.

The Ukrainian military also faces a critical shortage of interceptor missiles needed to shoot down incoming Russian ballistic missiles.

Although intelligence warnings allow Ukrainian forces to prepare for attacks, the shortage of interceptor missiles limits their ability to defend against them.

Zelensky said European allies had supplied some air defence missiles, but the deliveries remained insufficient to protect the country.

“It’s not enough to defend ourselves,” he said.

The Ukrainian president said his country urgently needed continued international pressure on Moscow and additional weapons to defend against Russian attacks.

Ukraine’s two major demands from its allies, he said, were: “Not to lift sanctions from Putin … (and) to give us better missiles.”