“They are in an election cycle right now and need someone to blame for the price gouging,” the official said. “In general, Trump tends to like different types of people and leaders. He actually has a penchant for happy, successful people.”
In recent days, Zelensky has warned that his country is suffering more civilian casualties because the United States has reduced support, including the Starlink and Starshield services that help Ukraine defend against Russian attacks and plan its operations. “We still have no explanation for this, just strange stories,” Zelensky told members of the US Congress on Monday.
This month, advanced warnings from U.S. partners about Russian missile attacks have not materialized as usual. Ukraine also lacks Patriot missile interceptors, he said.
The Pentagon has not issued an official comment on the Ukrainian complaints. The U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine said 328 civilians were killed and more than 2,000 injured across Ukraine last month, an 85% increase compared to September 2025. The U.N. said the first two weeks of October were among the deadliest for civilians in Ukraine in years, due to increased missile and drone strikes.
The top European diplomat cited above said many European governments were irritated that Trump had so far excluded them from his conversations with Putin. “There is probably a lot more dialogue between the Americans and the Russians than we think,” the diplomat said.
Tuesday’s meeting with Witkoff in Norway raised the possibility that direct engagement with Putin might once again be on the cards, at least for Zelensky.
“Today is a good day for peace,” Finnish President Alexander Stubb said after attending the negotiations in Oslo. “On a substantive and technical level, we’ve actually made a lot of unnoticed progress over the last week,” Stubb said.
The process is moving in the right direction again, he added. “I hope we don’t turn back.”
Gn usa
