U.S. taking Putin’s side would be a ‘historic mistake,’ says Zelenskyy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that the U.S. formally siding with Russia’s Vladimir Putin would be a “historic mistake,” but said he still sees President Donald Trump as an ally despite a series of moves that have unsettled his country and its friends on Capitol Hill. “We want to trust him,” Zelenskyy told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on Sunday, referring to Trump. “I hope that he will change his decisions, because I think that it’s all mistakes, and it will not help us, and it will not help United States.” Trump on Friday waived sweeping new sanctions against Russia passed by Congress, saying in an executive order that the move “is in the national interests of the United States.” Passed with bipartisan support and signed by Trump last month, the sanctions were intended to target Russia’s revenue streams by punishing global buyers of Russian oil and gas.

The waiver came days after a deal with Putin to release hundreds of thousands of tons of Russian diesel fuel onto the global market as fuel prices soar. At the same time, Zelenskyy said, U.S. intelligence sharing was briefly “blocked,” blinding Ukraine to incoming ballistic missiles, while limits have been placed on Starlink technology critical to intercept jet-powered drones. Zelenskyy told moderator