President Donald Trump has declared that major progress is being made toward ending the war between Russia and Ukraine, while launching a blistering attack on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for targeting Russian oil facilities and sending shockwaves through global diesel markets.
In a Truth Social tirade on Sunday afternoon, Trump insisted he was making headway in negotiations to end the four-and-a-half-year conflict, claiming a breakthrough could be jeopardized by fresh sanctions against Moscow.
But the president reserved his fiercest criticism for Zelensky, accusing the Ukrainian leader of prolonging the bloodshed while devastating energy markets and hurting American farmers, ranchers and businesses.
'I am in the process of negotiating Peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine, and don’t want to do anything that will drive, foolishly, Russia away from the bargaining table,' Trump wrote.
'Great progress is being made, and that includes current hostage negotiations!'
His dramatic intervention came as Ukraine unleashed one of its largest drone offensives of the war, sending more than 1,000 drones toward Russian territory and setting oil infrastructure ablaze in St. Petersburg.
Trump's comments also offered his most forceful defense yet of his decision on Friday to block the immediate implementation of new sanctions against Russia, a move that has attracted bipartisan criticism.
'My decision on Russia is a very simple one,' he declared, insisting that further economic pressure risked driving Vladimir Putin away from peace negotiations.
'Signing that document at this time will do that, and I can sign it later, or any time that I want!'
In an extraordinary Truth Social tirade on Sunday afternoon, Trump insisted he was making headway in negotiations to end the four-and-a-half-year conflict
Trump says major progress is being made in peace negotiations with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, insisting fresh sanctions against Moscow could derail efforts to end the war in Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has come under fire from Trump for targeting Russian oil refineries, with the US president accusing him of damaging global diesel markets
Trump also linked his decision to the escalating confrontation with Iran, arguing that Moscow was currently offering Tehran far less assistance than it potentially could.
'Russia is doing very little, if anything, to help the Islamic Republic of Iran, compared to what they could be doing, and I want to keep it that way, and will, unless stupid people get in the way,' he wrote.
But it was Zelenskyy who faced the full force of the president's anger.
Trump accused the Ukrainian leader of deliberately attacking Russian diesel refineries despite knowing the consequences for international fuel supplies.
'Zelenskyy is using Diesel Refineries in Russia as a target, knowing that these attacks are seriously hurting the world diesel markets, including those in the United States,' he wrote.
'Farmers, ranchers, and businesses of all kinds are suffering greatly from this.'
The president claimed Russia was nevertheless supplying millions of barrels of diesel to global markets at discounted prices.
He offered no supporting figures for his claims about the economic impact of Ukraine's attacks.
Smoke billows into the sky following Ukrainian drone strikes on an industrial zone in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Sunday
Ukraine launched a massive drone attack on Putin's home city of St Petersburg, striking the port, power stations, hitting a bridge and forcing Pulkovo airport passengers into shelters
Part of Ukraine's drone attack hit the Korabelny Fairway Bridge in St. Petersburg, Russia
The president painted a devastating picture of Ukraine's position, describing its territory as shattered and its population decimated by years of fighting. Trump is pictured on Saturday
Trump then escalated his criticism into a deeply personal broadside against Zelensky, accusing him of having little interest in securing peace.
'Zelensky doesn’t care, and frankly, with all of the money that Europe is famously giving him, and that Crooked Joe Biden gave him in the past, he doesn’t want to end this war, and probably never did,' Trump declared.
'He could have made a better deal two years ago than he can now.'
The president painted a devastating picture of Ukraine's position, describing its territory as shattered and its population decimated by years of fighting.
'His country is in shambles, a large portion of his land is lost, his oceans and seas are gone, and his male population is low, wounded, and/or dead,' Trump wrote.
He ended his post with an emphatic declaration: 'I WANT THIS WAR END!'
The extraordinary attack came just hours after Zelensky appeared on NBC's Meet the Press, where he warned that Trump's decision to waive sanctions could hand Putin a dangerous advantage.
The Ukrainian president argued that Washington siding with Moscow would amount to a 'historic mistake.'
'We can't compare me and Putin. He's (an) aggressor. He occupied us. He killed adults and children, his soldiers,' Zelensky said.
'He's a terrorist. And that's why I hope that President Trump will be very clear with this position.'
Local people at the site of a Russian strike on a residential area in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine this weekend, amid the ongoing Russian invasion. At least five people, including a child, were hurt
Ukrainian rescuers work at the site of a Russian strike on a residential area in Zaporizhzhia
The massive strike by Russia in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine injured five people including a child
A man looks at a residential building damaged after a Russian airstrike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on Saturday
Zelensky also revealed that intelligence sharing between Washington and Kyiv had resumed following a temporary interruption.
The diplomatic confrontation unfolded against a backdrop of escalating violence.
Russian authorities said Ukraine launched 1,015 drones across 15 Russian regions, occupied Crimea and the Black Sea on Sunday.
In St. Petersburg, strikes ignited fires at the Petersburg Oil Terminal and the Ruchi oil depot, killing one person and injuring five others, according to regional governor Alexander Beglov.
A logistics facility belonging to Russian retailer Ozon and a data center operated by technology company VK were also targeted.
Meanwhile, Russian attacks on Ukraine continued, with a woman killed and a six-year-old girl among those injured in strikes on Zaporizhzhia.
The latest bloodshed has raised fresh questions about an 'energy ceasefire' Trump announced on October 11, claiming both countries had agreed to halt attacks on energy infrastructure.
Kyiv initially said it was observing the arrangement, but subsequently reported continued Russian attacks and resumed its own strikes after a three-day pause.
People watch the burning oil terminal following an air attack in St. Petersburg on Sunday
Russia shot down dozens of Ukrainian drones near St Petersburg, authorities said on Sunday with an oil terminal hit and flights disrupted at one of the country's busiest airports
On Sunday, Zelensky claimed that Russia had attacked Ukrainian energy, oil and gas facilities 76 times over the last week, leaving tens of thousands of families without electricity.
'America should see that Russia is not taking any reciprocal steps in response to sanctions relief or agreements,' he warned.
Despite the increasingly bitter public confrontation, diplomatic contacts continued with Zelensky revealing that he had spoken to Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner about negotiations held in Miami on October 9 and the next steps toward peace.
The exchanges underscore the difficult balancing act facing Washington as Trump seeks a diplomatic breakthrough while the two warring nations continue pounding each other's infrastructure.