Volodymyr Zelensky said that he felt betrayed by Donald Trump, and warned the US president was not acting on the “right side of history”.
“It is a pity that we are losing a strong partner,” the Ukrainian leader said on Wednesday amid an escalating public clash with his American counterpart.
Relations between Kyiv and the White House have sharply deteriorated after Mr Trump agreed on Friday to waive sanctions on Russia to import diesel.
The US president has been pressuring Ukraine to halt its strikes on Russian oil refineries, blaming Kyiv – not the Iran war – for rising energy prices. On Saturday he said Ukraine needed “a new president”.
In an interview with Piers Morgan Uncensored, scheduled to air on Wednesday, Mr Zelensky said he would not resign under US pressure.
Asked whether he felt “betrayed” by recent events, he said: “Really, yes, between us. But it’s a little bit more complicated than just my emotions or my feelings.
“Our country has to survive, and we count on our real partners, strategic partners, the United States and President Trump. They wanted us not to attack. My opinion was, it is not fair.”
‘People will die’
The US has also threatened to suspend intelligence-sharing to force Ukraine to stop its refinery attacks.
Mr Zelensky claimed on Tuesday that Kyiv had stopped receiving warnings from allies about missile attacks. He also accused Elon Musk, the tech billionaire, of imposing limits on his Starlink technology, which are critical communication devices for Ukrainian forces on the front line.
“I am sure they knew what they did, absolutely. Because it was 1am at night, Starlink was blocked by SpaceX and the United States,” Mr Zelensky said.
Addressing Mr Musk directly, he added: “This decision will bring a lot of human losses. Of course, people will die.”
Nato, EU and Ukrainian officials have told The Telegraph that they have seen no signs that US intelligence-sharing has stopped with the country.
The US has not commented on the matter and Kyiv is still waiting to hear from the Trump administration, a Ukrainian official familiar with discussions told The Telegraph.
Kyiv maintains it has not hit any oil refineries since Mr Trump announced an energy ceasefire on Sunday.
During Wednesday’s visit to the UK, Mr Zelensky also pressed Andy Burnham to use the proceeds of Roman Abramovich’s sale of Chelsea Football Club to support Ukraine.
Ahead of their Downing Street meeting, sources said the Ukrainian president would argue that the £2.5bn funds were needed to offset the damage done by Mr Trump’s diesel deal with Vladimir Putin.
Mr Zelensky also pushed Mr Burnham to confiscate frozen Russian assets held in Britain to ratchet up the economic pressure on Moscow.
The EU failed last year to reach a decision on the seizure of some €210bn (£183bn) in Russian state bank assets being held on the Continent, mainly in Belgium.
Sir Keir Starmer, the then prime minister, used the failure to back down on a promise to do the same.
Britain has been locked in a dispute with Mr Abramovich, who has close ties to Putin, about the use of the proceeds of the Chelsea sale.
The Russian oligarch was sanctioned by the Government following the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Ministers eventually allowed the billionaire to sell the football club based on the condition that the money would go to “victims of the war in Ukraine”.
Mr Abramovich has since set up the Foundation for the Victims of Conflict to oversee the dispersal of the funds.
But his organisation has disagreed with the Government about whether the money can be spent on humanitarian causes across a range of countries.
After months without an update, Ukrainian officials put the issue on Mr Zelensky’s agenda to raise with Mr Burnham during their meeting.
Before the talks, the Prime Minister told the House of Commons that he would seek to mend relations between Kyiv and Washington.
Speaking in the Commons, Mr Burnham told MPs: “What I have to do in my role is try and repair bridges so that the support comes back.
“Therefore I should, at this moment in time, be careful in terms of laying the ground to bring people back together. That is the role I intend to play.”
Mr Zelensky also met the King at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday afternoon.
In a social media post, the Ukrainian president said: “I thank the King, the Prime Minister, and all of Britain for their support!”
After his meetings in London, he will travel to hold talks with European leaders at a summit in Brussels.
This article originally appeared on The Telegraph at https://uk.news.yahoo.com/zelensky-feel-betrayed-trump-173810626.html