Zelensky tells Bloomberg US steps look aimed at pushing Ukraine to capitulate; offers refinery-strike halt for Patriot missiles

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that recent US actions appear intended to pressure Ukraine into capitulating to Russia, in an interview with Bloomberg given in his office in Kyiv on Sunday 18 October. Bloomberg published the interview on Sunday evening Kyiv time, Sunday 18 October.

Update, 11:05am GMT: In a post on X at 7:47am GMT on Monday, after the overnight Russian attack on Kyiv, Zelensky said there had “once again” been “no early warning from our partners”. “When deliveries of missiles for Ukraine’s air defence are blocked while Russia is granted relief or delays in sanctions, this is, unfortunately, a denial of reality on the part of our partners,” he wrote, as also reported by The Guardian. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday there had been “no pause” in US intelligence sharing with Ukraine; see our report.

“I believe steps have been taken to convince Ukraine to capitulate. I am not saying that this is the goal our partners are pursuing. I don’t want to think that our American partners believe the war could be ended sooner at Ukraine’s expense. But that’s how it looks.” Volodymyr Zelensky, to Bloomberg

Bloomberg reported that in the full quote Zelensky said the war “against Russia” could be ended sooner at Ukraine’s expense.

Starlink and Patriot missiles

Zelensky listed what Bloomberg described as a series of unfriendly moves by Washington, including the slowing of Starlink satellite internet speeds used by Ukrainian troops and delays to deliveries of Patriot interceptors for ballistic missiles. Asked who ordered the Starlink restrictions, he pointed to “the authorities, the White House”, citing sources he did not identify, according to Bloomberg.

On the Patriot missiles, Zelensky said Ukraine had paid for weapons under the NATO-coordinated PURL programme. “A part of the supplies has been authorised, while the rest haven’t been. And this is not a technical issue,” he said, as quoted by Ukrainska Pravda. He said the US currently supplies 12 Patriot interceptors a month, about a quarter of the number provided under President Joe Biden’s administration, the Kyiv Independent reported. The Kyiv Independent said the US government had not publicly confirmed those figures.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has denied White House involvement in the Starlink restrictions, NV reported.

Refinery strikes offer

Zelensky said he had proposed halting Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries, which the Trump administration has asked Kyiv to stop in order to ease diesel prices, in exchange for more Patriot missiles.

“Now, we have dangerous days ahead of the elections. My latest model was: We don’t target Russian diesel, you give us missiles for Patriot systems to protect our facilities. But they just want us to stop attacking diesel. And if we strike that, they will disconnect us from something.” Volodymyr Zelensky, to Bloomberg

He was referring to the US midterm elections on 3 November. Zelensky said relations with Washington might improve after the vote: “Politics is very aggressive during election time,” he told Bloomberg. He also said he believed Trump has a good relationship with Putin but cannot currently force him to end the war, according to Bloomberg.

According to Bloomberg, Zelensky said he was discussing another meeting, possibly later this week, with US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff.

Trump’s comments

On Sunday, US President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that he had gone ahead with a diesel export deal with Russia and a partial waiver of new Russia sanctions because he did not want to drive Russian President Vladimir Putin away from peace talks, Bloomberg reported. “He doesn’t want to end this war, and probably never did,” Trump wrote of Zelensky. For Trump’s post and Zelensky’s NBC interview the same day, see our earlier report. Kyiv’s and Moscow’s responses to the sanctions waiver are covered here.

As of 9:40am GMT, no White House or Kremlin response specifically to the Bloomberg interview had been reported by the outlets cited here.

Kyiv attack

Russian ballistic missiles struck Kyiv early on Monday 19 October Kyiv time, killing a 21-year-old woman and injuring eight people, the Kyiv Post reported (figures as of 9:40am GMT). Bloomberg reported, citing a person familiar with the matter, that the US again did not share early warning of the launch with Ukraine.

See also: US envoys propose Europe resume buying Russian gas as part of Ukraine peace plan, NYT reports.