President Donald Trump, 80, said at a White House gaggle on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, that it is time for somebody else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine.
Trump aimed the remark at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, 48. “Zelensky is a man that should have had this war settled a long time ago. If he would have listened to me, he would have made a much better deal a long time ago, and he’d have a million people living from his side,” Trump said.
Trump added: “I think it’s time for somebody else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine, because what’s happened? Very little land has moved, but a million people, a tremendous number of people, are dead.”
Trump also said on Truth Social that Zelensky “doesn’t want to end this war, and probably never did,” and that Ukraine is “in shambles.”
Putin Floats a Shenzhen Summit
Reporters asked Trump on Oct. 19 about a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Xi. “No, but I would do it not so much for Ukraine because Russia, frankly, has been fine on Ukraine,” Trump said. He named “nuclear weapons and denuclearization” as the subject of such a summit.
Trump said he would meet even without Zelensky in the room: “Whatever I can do to end the war, whether somebody’s there or not.”
Putin proposed a meeting with Trump and Xi on the sidelines of the APEC forum in Shenzhen, China, next month, according to people familiar with the Russian and Chinese discussions, reported Oct. 19.
Ukraine Resumes Its Refinery Strikes
Zelensky ended a three-day hold on striking Russian energy sites, which he had imposed under pressure from Washington. “We’re done,” Zelensky said in a Financial Times interview published Thursday, Oct. 15, saying the block on hitting refineries was over. Ukrainian forces hit an oil refinery in Russia’s western Ryazan region the same day, tearing up the “energy ceasefire” Trump had declared on Truth Social.
Zelensky also went after Trump personally over his dealings with authoritarian leaders. Leaders in power 20, 30 or 40 years look very strong in Trump’s eyes, Zelensky said. “He speaks about it openly and loudly that he loves such people and he respects such people,” he told the newspaper.
Trump told Newsmax on Thursday night, Oct. 15: “No, I’m not a big fan of Zelensky. He destroyed that country.” He said in the same interview that “Putin hates Zelensky, and Zelensky hates Putin.” He added: “It should end soon. I think they both would actually like to see it end. But I find Zelensky more difficult to deal with than Putin.”
The split between Washington and Kyiv is the worst since February 2025. That month, Trump and Vice President JD Vance dressed Zelensky down in the Oval Office and accused him of not being grateful enough for American support.
Zelensky said on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on Oct. 18 that he hoped Trump would reverse his decisions. He argued that sanctions relief strengthens Russia’s position rather than advancing peace. On Sunday, Oct. 18, Zelensky talked with top U.S. envoys to ease tensions after Trump accused him of not wanting peace.
A Ukrainian drone strike hit an oil terminal in St. Petersburg amid the escalating confrontation, reported as of Oct. 19.
A Diesel Deal Before the Midterms
Trump announced a deal on Friday, Oct. 9, to bring in Russian diesel — a purchase of almost 2 million tons. The deal suspended U.S. restrictions on Russian diesel. Trump was scrambling to bring down fuel costs driven by his own war on Iran.
The deal drew global backlash. Trump then said on Saturday, Oct. 10, that it was “time for Ukraine to get a new president.”
Voters rank the conflict and its effect on prices among their top concerns ahead of the Nov. 3 races for the House and Senate. Democrats hold an overall 9-point lead.
Trump’s loyalists started rounding on Kyiv after the refinery strikes. Mike Cernovich, a right-wing social media personality, wrote on X that taxpayers had handed more than $250 billion to Zelensky, and that all Trump wanted was diesel prices down a dollar or two before the midterms.
Rogan O’Handley, a conservative commentator who posts as DC Draino, shared the post and urged Trump to retaliate. Steve Cortes, a former Trump adviser, asked on X how much American taxpayer money had gone to the Ukrainian leader.
Elon Musk, the owner of SpaceX and X, posted on Wednesday, Oct. 14, that it was time for Zelensky to go. Musk was responding to a clip of Zelensky telling British journalist Piers Morgan that Ukraine is not for sale and that the war is about his country’s lives, homes and children.
The war with Iran has not drawn the same blame. Fuel shipping is wrecked in the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, and Iran-aligned Houthi rebels have blockaded the southern end of the Red Sea.
Starshield Limited to Slow Drones
White House officials told the Defense Department to slow Ukrainian access to SpaceX’s Starshield, the military-grade version of Musk’s Starlink service, according to two U.S. sources and a third Western official. It remains unclear which official made that call and who passed it to the Pentagon.
Zelensky said the Trump administration had threatened to cut off intelligence sharing to force him to accept the ceasefire. Ukraine then lost early-warning systems for incoming missiles, and its satellite coverage slowed, he said.
Trump denied cutting off the intelligence supply. U.S. officials told the Ukrainians the alert failures were a glitch, and Zelensky has disputed that account. Musk has said the network is the property of the U.S. government, and that the U.S. military, and ultimately the president, sets limits on its speed and use.
Putin’s forces bombed energy facilities in Kharkiv and Kyiv after Trump’s ceasefire announcement. Zelensky said Russia had not honored the energy ceasefire, continuing strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and killing about 100 civilians over the past week. Three more died in drone strikes on Friday, Oct. 16, which knocked out power for about 370,000 people.
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said Thursday that Starshield was working again, but only for drones moving slower than 100 mph. Zelensky announced Thursday that an overnight Ukrainian strike destroyed four Russian warplanes and hit two more. He vowed to keep attacking targets inside Russia.
Putin launched his full-scale invasion in 2022. Russian forces have been bombing Ukraine for more than four and a half years.
