Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russia of launching another night of missile and drone strikes on Ukraine while complaining that Kyiv received no warning from its partners, intensifying a dispute with Donald Trump over US support for the war.
The Ukrainian president said the latest attacks targeted energy and other infrastructure, as well as a medical clinic, a school, a metro station and residential buildings.
“Ukraine never wanted this war,” Mr Zelenskyy said in a statement on Monday. He added that Kyiv had welcomed “literally EVERY attempt of partners to end this war with dignity”.
Mr Zelenskyy has also alleged that the United States is restricting intelligence and delaying some vital supplies to Ukraine. He said political agreements had not been implemented at working level and claimed there had been delays in certain types of assistance from the US Department of War.
He did not provide further details about the alleged delays. The Pentagon denied any change in its policy.
“There has been no change to Department of War policy regarding intelligence sharing or any capabilities we are enabling Europeans to provide to Ukraine,” a senior Pentagon official said.
The dispute also concerns Starshield, an upgraded military version of Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite system, which Ukraine says is important in helping its forces intercept Russian drones and other weapons.
Mr Zelenskyy said on Saturday that Ukraine was still unable to use Starshield for that purpose. Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, said the disruption had not been deliberate and that he understood the service had been restored.
“The United States — nobody ordered that Starlink speed to be slowed down. It sort of happened, but my understanding is it’s been restored,” Mr Rubio said.
Ukraine’s chargé d’affaires in Washington, Denys Sienik, said Kyiv had not received confirmation from the Pentagon or SpaceX that unlimited speeds had been restored or that Starshield was operating as before.
Trump and Zelenskyy trade accusations over war
The latest claims came after Mr Trump accused Mr Zelenskyy of not wanting to end Russia’s full-scale invasion, saying the Ukrainian leader “doesn’t want to end this war, and probably never did”.
Mr Trump also argued that Ukraine could have reached a better deal two years ago, and said the country was in ruins, had lost a large part of its territory and had suffered heavy losses among its male population.
Mr Zelenskyy responded by saying that Russia’s repeated answer to diplomatic efforts had been further attacks. He accused Vladimir Putin of opposing both an end to the war and any steps towards de-escalation.
“Call the aggressor an aggressor and help Ukraine protect lives,” he said, arguing that a reduction in sanctions on Moscow or a blockage of missiles for Ukrainian air defences denied the reality that the war was continuing because of Russian attacks.
The Trump administration has softened the US approach to sanctions on Russia, including measures affecting Russian energy sales, in an effort to ease pressure on gas prices. Mr Zelenskyy has warned that such moves risk encouraging Moscow to prolong or intensify the conflict.
Mr Trump recently said Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an “energy ceasefire”, involving a halt to attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure. Neither government acknowledged such an agreement, and Ukrainian authorities reported new attacks on refineries within hours.
The Kremlin has presented Moscow as willing to engage in peace efforts. Dmitry Peskov, Mr Putin’s spokesman, said Russia valued US mediation but that agreements could not be reached without representatives from Kyiv.
Talks mediated by the United States have so far produced prisoner exchanges but no ceasefire. A proposal for a meeting involving US, Russian and Chinese officials, without Ukraine at the negotiating table, was criticised by Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, who said it would encourage Mr Putin to continue the war.
