Zelensky, US allies bet on strike concessions to placate Trump

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his powerful allies in Congress are seeking to use President Trump’s desire for Kyiv to stop targeting Russian diesel facilities to boost his support for Ukraine in other ways.

Sen. Roger Wicker (Miss.), the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, returned from a trip to Ukraine last week proposing a deal: Zelensky calls off attacks on Russian energy in exchange for satellite access and intelligence to help Ukraine target missile launchers inside Russia.

Zelensky has proposed his own version of the deal: Ceding to Trump’s demands in exchange for Patriot missile interceptors, which are in desperately short supply as Kyiv struggles to defend against incoming Russian drones and missiles.

The proposals point to a growing desperation within Congress to repair an apparent rift between Washington and Kyiv that threatens to grow larger amid Trump’s decision to buy Russian diesel, waive sanctions for the Kremlin and potentially cut off Western intelligence and vital Starlink and Starshield satellite internet for Ukraine.

John Hardie, the deputy director of the Russia Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said that while the situation between the U.S. and Ukraine is worrisome, he doesn’t believe it’s hit the low of the Trump and Zelensky’s February 2025 Oval Office meeting, where Trump and Vice President Vance publicly and loudly berated the Ukrainian leader before abruptly ending the gathering.

“That said, the disruption to Starshield/Starlink was a blow both to Ukrainian operations and to trust between the two sides,” he told The Hill.

Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX – which controls Starlink and its military-grade version Starshield – was behind the slowdown of the services, which began Oct. 14 and caused panic in Ukraine, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

Both Musk and Trump in the days before the disruption had vented their frustrations with Ukraine for its attacks on Russian diesel refineries. Trump has pinned the strikes on high energy prices, even as the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war in Iran is largely to blame for rising fuel costs worldwide.

Zelensky, meanwhile, has had harsh words for Trump and his surprise deal to import Russian diesel, which the Ukrainian leader says puts the U.S. on the wrong side of history.

It also was reported Monday that the U.S. was holding up the delivery of the Patriot interceptors to Ukraine. Kyiv relies on the weapons to shoot down Russian drones and missiles that have been hammering Ukrainian cities since the full-scale invasion began in 2022.

The Patriots are seen as all the more vital to defend Ukrainian energy sources as the country heads into what is expected to be another brutal winter.

To bring the two sides together, Wicker on Sunday pressed Trump to make a deal with Ukraine that would allow it to use satellite access and intelligence to hit Russian missile launchers. In exchange, Kyiv would back off on striking Moscow’s energy targets, allowing the president to potentially lower the soaring fuel prices that have battered GOP lawmakers in the polls.

“President Trump can lower prices at the pump today by simply agreeing to this deal!” Wicker said in a plea posted to X. “MR. PRESIDENT, PLEASE TAKE THIS WIN!”

Hardie said he viewed Wicker’s proposal as worth consideration and a potential off-ramp to animosity, as it “could help Ukraine reduce the Russian ballistic missile threat at a time when the United States has few Patriot interceptors to spare.”

The Pentagon has denied it is purposely dragging its feet on the Patriot delivery, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday claiming that the U.S. government’s posture toward Ukraine is unchanged.

He emphasized, however, that “our guys” need Patriot missiles interceptors too.

“There’s a lot of things that have been said in the press that are not true about the Department of War,” Hegseth told reporters in Eau Claire, Wisc. when asked about reports of a transfer hold up of some Patriots from Kyiv’s allies, which the Pentagon chief must approve.

The Washington Post reported that although Hegseth has continued to approve some U.S. assistance to Ukraine, he has not formally completed the requiredsteps to allow some of the Patriot transfers.

“We haven’t changed our posture in any way toward the Ukrainians, but certainly with things like interceptors, we want to make sure our guys have the most possible as well,” Hegseth said.

Making matters more complicated, the Trump administration is reportedly close to a deal with Russia to release multiple Americans from detention in the country. pecial Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner have been leading the negotiations, purported to be in the final stages, ABC News reported.

Speaking in the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump again blamed the lack of a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, saying that Kyiv “has to want to settle this war.”

“Zelensky has to want to settle this war, and if he doesn’t, I think it’s going to be a very bad thing,” Trump said. “We have given tremendous amounts to Ukraine. We’ve got nothing back, other than high diesel, . . . and the American taxpayers are tired of it. We want Zelensky to make a deal.”

The Ukrainian president, meanwhile, has blamed Russia for prolonging the war by continuing military strikes, demanding steep territorial concessions and rejecting viable peace plans offered thus far.