Ukraine launches more than 1,000 drones at Russia as spat between Trump and Zelensky continues

RUSSIA, October 19 ------ Ukrainian strikes set an oil export terminal and a depot ablaze in St. Petersburg as Kyiv launched more than 1,000 drones at Russia in one of its largest aerial attacks of the war. The strikes came as tensions between Kyiv and Washington deepened, with U.S. President Donald Trump criticizing Kyiv’s attacks on Russian oil infrastructure and the prospect of further U.S. sanctions against Moscow still uncertain.

Trump said Sunday that he decided to hold off on implementing new sanctions on Russia because he doesn’t “want to do anything that will drive, foolishly, Russia away from the bargaining table.”

In a social media post, the U.S. president defended his Friday order to issue a waiver to prevent new sanctions from being placed on Moscow from bipartisan criticism that he was favoring Russian President Vladimir Putin’s interests over those of Ukraine. Trump said he believed new sanctions would undermine negotiations to bring about a diplomatic end to the war in Ukraine. “I can sign it later, or any time that I want!” Trump added about the sanctions.

Trump also lashed out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has been critical of Trump’s recent outreach to Putin, for launching strikes on Russian energy infrastructure during the conflict, claiming Zelenskyy “doesn’t want to end this war.”

Zelensky: Waiving sanctions strengthens Russia

Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press” earlier on Sunday, Zelensky said waiving sanctions against Russia would strengthen Putin’s war effort. He also said U.S.-Ukraine intelligence sharing had resumed after being “blocked for some period of time.”

Zelensky said that while he trusted Trump, siding with Moscow would be a tragedy and a “historic mistake” for Washington. “People want to forget what’s going on. But we can’t give this possibility to forget, or to change reality, or to change the truth,” Zelensky said. “We can’t compare me and Putin. He’s (an) aggressor. He occupied us. He killed adults and children, his soldiers. He’s a terrorist. And that’s why I hope that President Trump will be very clear with this position.”

Later Sunday, Zelensky said on social media that he had spoken with U.S. presidential envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner about the results of an Oct. 9 meeting between U.S. and Ukrainian negotiating teams in Miami, as well as “next steps in diplomacy.”

Source: manilatimes.net