Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has said being abandoned by the US is like being in the “Home Alone” movie, warning against Washington pivoting towards Moscow. In one of his most frank statements on the US's warmth towards Vladimir Putin, he said Donald Trump's controversial “diesel deal” could be just the beginning.
Trump has in recent weeks called for Zelensky to be replaced, blamed him for the war, lifted sanctions on Russia and agreed to buy Moscow's diesel, favouring Putin. He has also demanded that Zelensky stop allowing his troops to pound Russia's energy industry, which Ukraine has been doing for many months. The Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries and distribution points have damaged Moscow's ability to continue paying for the war.
Zelensky's Warning on 'Economic Marriage'
Zelensky said: “We understand where things are heading. It's like the next installment of Home Alone. It is a challenge – a tough challenge. I believe the ‘diesel deal' opens the door for the Russians to take further similar steps.”
He added: “Russia understands that – unlike other nations – it possesses such natural resources, capabilities, reserves, and a centralised, vertical control over all of this, that it could genuinely propose a sort of ‘economic marriage' to America – as unpleasant as that may sound.”
The statement is the latest sign that Zelensky has given up trying to be diplomatic with Trump after a series of setbacks that have harmed Ukraine's war effort. Last night, Ukraine hit back at Russian attacks on its civilians, sending waves of more than 500 attack drones to target Moscow's industrial base.
Ukraine Strikes Russian Industrial Sites
Ukraine's attack hit Russia's largest steel plant and a key chemical factory. Fires broke out at the Novolipetsk Steel Plant, which was supposed to have been protected by air defence systems. It is believed that Ukraine's drones managed either to dodge the air defences or that the ground systems were intercepted and blocked.
As Ukraine gained traction in the war, daily striking Russia's energy industry and eroding Putin's ability to pay for the war, Trump demanded that the attacks stop. The US leader has been accused of trying to divert blame for global energy price hikes from his war on Iran towards Zelensky attacking Russian oil exports.
No Breakthrough in Peace Talks
The latest Zelensky-Trump dispute came as there was little sign of any breakthrough in peace talks brokered by Washington between Russia and Ukraine. Overnight, a Russian airstrike hit a Kharkiv apartment in Ukraine's east, injuring five people, including a four-year-old boy.
Moscow's troops have daily been targeting Ukraine's civilians and their infrastructure in a bid to lower morale. There are growing fears that Russian forces will be directed to attack city infrastructure such as heating systems as winter temperatures plummet in the coming months.
