‘We fully agree’: Kremlin backs Trump’s criticism of Zelensky over Russia-Ukraine peace

Kremlin on Friday (Oct 16) said that it was in “full” agreement with the US President Donald Trump’s criticism of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky over stalled peace efforts as Europe’s deadliest war in modern history continues for more than four years. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused Zelensky of not taking responsibility and not wanting to enter a peaceful settlement process. This comes after Trump on Thursday (Oct 15) said that Zelensky was "not a good guy for us to deal with" and claimed that he does not want to help bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine war.

“The fact that Zelensky doesn’t want to take responsibility and enter a peaceful settlement process is unambiguous,” Peskov told reporters during a briefing. “Here, we fully agree with President Trump’s point of view.”

What did Trump say?

In an interview with Newsmax, Trump claimed that the Ukrainian president “doesn’t want to settle” the ongoing war with Russia. “If they’re going to end up with a settlement of some kind, they’re not going to do it with him. He doesn’t want to settle. He says he wants to settle, but he doesn’t.”

He added that while both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelensky would like to see the war end, “but I think I find Zelensky to be more difficult to deal with than Putin.”

Trump also criticised the Obama and Biden administrations over their handling of the conflict, including Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea. He said the war had devastated Ukraine and reiterated his dissatisfaction with Zelensky.

Putin has repeatedly demanded that Ukraine cede full control of the Donetsk region as a prerequisite for any ceasefire agreement – a condition Kyiv has consistently rejected. According to a Bloomberg report last month, Putin is expecting Russian forces to take full control of the Donetsk region by late February 2027.

Zelensky-Trump rift grows

The development comes as tensions between Kyiv and Washington continue to rise following a US-Russia diesel agreement. Zelensky has criticised the easing of restrictions on Russian diesel exports, arguing that it could benefit Moscow without securing concessions. The Ukrainian president earlier declared that Kyiv will no longer abide by US President Donald Trump’s energy ceasefire that demanded a halt to attacks on energy infrastructure.

On October 11, Trump announced the energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, saying it was “effective immediately”. Zelensky denied knowledge of any such agreement but said that he would abide by it if Moscow did the same. However, Ukraine accused Russia of striking at least six of its energy infrastructure just hours after the announcement.

Trump had repeatedly warned Kyiv against targeting Russia’s oil refineries, saying that it has led to a rise in fuel prices in the US ahead of the upcoming November 3 midterm elections. Meanwhile, reports suggested that US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner had also raised the possibility of limiting intelligence-sharing with Ukraine if the refinery attacks continued. A US official denied that a threat had been made.