How Zelensky ran out of patience with Trump — and what it means for US-Ukraine relations

ROME, ITALY, APRIL 15: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends a joint press conference with Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni (not seen) at the end of their talks at Chigi Palace government office in Rome, Italy, on April 15, 2026. (Photo by Isabella Bonotto/Anadolu via Getty Images) Prefer on Google by Tim Zadorozhnyy In just two months, President Volodymyr Zelensky shifted from being the first world leader to back a U.S. military operation in the Middle East to openly criticizing Washington's foreign policy. The noticeable change of tone came at a moment when Ukraine and the U.S. have once again reached a difficult impasse in bilateral relations, with Washington consumed by its war against Iran and the fragile diplomacy surrounding a possible settlement. Washington's public messaging, weapons uncertainty, and what Ukrainian officials describe as broken promises are fueling frustration in Kyiv, according to three people familiar with the matter. "It's clear who we're dealing with… there are objectively difficult situations that don't foster a positive atmosphere," one senior Ukrainian official told the Kyiv Independent. While officials stop short of describing the situation as a rupture, the trust deficit is becoming harder to hide. In Ukrainian, there is a phrase often translated as "nerves of steel," and many in Kyiv use it when describing Zelensky's approach to dealing with U.S. President Donald Trump . For months, that approach meant restraint. Standing shoulder to shoulder with Trump in December, after talks aimed at reviving negotiations with Russia , Zelensky offered little more than a controlled smile when the U.S. president declared that "Russia wants to see Ukraine succeed." "It sounds a little strange, but (Vladimir) Putin was very generous in his feelings toward Ukraine succeeding," Trump said, even as Russia continued mass attacks targeting civilian infrastructure in an attempt to freeze Ukraine. "It's disrespectful to come to Moscow and not Kyiv, it's just disrespectful." That moment has since become a useful illustration of how carefully Kyiv has tried to manage its relationship with Trump — swallowing frustration in public while pushing back only when necessary. But recent months have shown a noticeable shift. In one of his latest remarks, Zelensky directly criticized the two U.S. envoys involved in the Ukraine peace track, saying their approach showed disrespect toward Kyiv. Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) greets U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff (C), Jared Kushner (CR), and Josh Gruenbaum (R), a White House senior advisor and commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service, in Moscow, Russia on Jan. 22, 2026. (Alexander Kazakov/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) "It's disrespectful to come to Moscow and not Kyiv, it's just disrespectful," he said on April 20. Zelensky also criticized U.S. Vice President JD Vance for praising the halt of American military aid to Ukraine, saying the stance benefits Russia and weakens the United States. His decision not to publicly comment after the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner now fits what appears to be a pattern. "Of course, we condemn violence," one Ukrainian official said. "But it would be inappropriate, since they haven't issued any statements even when we're under massive attacks ." Even so, Ukrainian officials insist this is not a deliberate strategy of confrontation. "We don't have the impression from inside that criticism has increased," the same official said. Rather, they explained, the relationship itself changed — and Ukraine's messaging simply adjusted to that reality. "There is a lot of public communication. The response followed the situation." Oleksandr Merezhko, head of Ukrainian parliament's foreign affairs committee, said Zelensky is trying to maintain a difficult balance. "I see that the president has chosen the right course in a certain sense," he said. "He treats Trump with great respect, but if he disagrees with something, he says it openly." That balancing act is becoming increasingly difficult. Zelensky was among the first leaders to publicly support the U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran, arguing that Tehran had long been involved in Russia's war. "The Iranian regime has brought so much evil to Ukraine," he said. Kyiv hoped that backing Washington's campaign would reinforce Ukraine's strategic relevance in Trump's eyes. Still, the U.S. has only become more hostile to Kyiv. As the military campaign failed to produce meaningful regime change and Washington shifted toward managing escalation , Ukraine was effectively pushed off the agenda. At the same time, Russia benefited from the consequences. In mid-April, Washington issued a second sanctions waiver for Russian oil, allowing limited sales amid global concerns over shortages caused by the war and disruptions tied to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. For Kyiv, the move landed like a betrayal. Just two days earlier, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had publicly said the administration "will not be renewing the general license on Russian oil." U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testifies before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee in Washington, D.C., U.S. on April 22, 2026. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images) Even senior U.S. officials privately believed the waiver was unnecessary and would have little real impact on markets, the Kyiv Independent has learned — making Bessent's reversal all the more difficult for Kyiv to understand. The extension also came shortly after Russian Envoy Kirill Dmitriev visited the United States, where he is believed to have lobbied for the waiver. One Ukrainian official described the move as something that "sends bad signals." Another person familiar with the negotiations said Ukraine had initially been assured the waiver would be strictly temporary and designed only to stabilize prices, prompting Kyiv not to escalate the issue publicly. Ukraine, the source said, "acted in a correct manner" and trusted those diplomatic assurances. During a later visit to Washington , where senior Ukrainian officials met their U.S. counterparts, Kyiv was again told the waiver would not be extended. "There were no grounds to believe anything had gone wrong," the source said, adding that when the extension happened anyway, the political logic changed. "After that, our hands were untied," the person said. "If one side does not keep its promises, the other can respond accordingly." That shift soon became visible. Ukraine's ambassador to the U.S., Olha Stefanishyna , publicly criticized the decision, writing on X that Kyiv "urges the U.S. administration to reinstate sanctions on Russian oil and petroleum products." Olha Stefanishyna, then-Ukraine’s deputy prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration, in Lviv, Ukraine, on April 12, 2025. (Yevhenii Zavhorodnii / Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images) Her statement was one of the clearest public signs yet that Ukrainian officials are becoming more willing to openly challenge Washington. "The waiver is just the tip of the iceberg," one source said. The deeper issue, officials argue, is not oil — it is trust. Military cooperation has become another source of quiet anxiety. Unlike the Biden administration, Trump's White House has refrained from providing direct military aid to Ukraine. Instead, assistance increasingly comes through weapons sales and procurement mechanisms involving NATO allies. Some reporting suggested Washington was using weapons deliveries to Ukraine as leverage in broader negotiations with European governments. A U.S. Defense official rejected that claim. "We ensure that U.S. forces and those of our allies and partners have what they need to fight and win," the official told the Kyiv Independent. Still, frustration is growing across Europe . One source familiar with the discussions said there is "significant frustration with this administration," and that it is directly affecting Ukraine's ability to secure urgently needed weapons. Some governments contributing to procurement efforts want their support kept private due to political sensitivities. "It is very hard to channel this money even for buying missiles for Patriots ," the source said. The air defense system has become one of Ukraine's most urgent military bottlenecks. A general view of the city shows a large fire at a secondary raw materials facility following an overnight Russian missile strike in which at least five people, including a child, were killed and 21 others injured in Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 16, 2026. (Photo by Kostiantyn Liberov/Libkos/Getty Images) Produced in the U.S., they remain the country's most effective defense against Russian ballistic missile strikes — threats that few other systems can reliably stop. The shortage became serious enough that Zelensky instructed Ukraine's Air Force commander to directly contact partners that had previously pledged Patriot missiles and other air defense systems. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is also seen by some officials as having a weakened position with Trump, particularly after tensions over what Washington views as NATO's insufficient involvement during the war with Iran. Rutte was central to negotiating the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), signed in July by NATO and the U.S., which created a framework for allies to purchase urgent military equipment for Ukraine. That mechanism now feels less certain. The growing frustration is bolstered by Ukraine's proposed drone partnership with Washington — a deal Kyiv says the U.S. largely ignored. According to a source familiar with the drone discussions, Ukraine repeatedly pitched the initiative as early as last year, including directly to Trump and his team. The proposal centered on sharing Ukraine's battle-tested drone technologies, particularly systems designed to counter Iranian-made Shahed-type attack drones — precisely the kind of threat U.S. forces are now facing in the Middle East. Kyiv has spent years building this expertise under wartime pressure. Ukrainian air defense has developed some of the world's most practical strategies in intercepting mass drone attacks. A Ukrainian soldier prepares an interceptor drone during a Russian aerial attack at an undisclosed location in Ukraine on Dec. 13, 2025. (Efrem Lukatsky / AP) After the Iran war escalated, U.S. officials appeared to realize they had "missed a good opportunity," the source said. Kyiv renewed the proposal, but still there was no answer. "Trump instructed his people to look into it… but nothing came of it," the person said. For Ukrainian officials, the proposal was also part of a broader effort to engage Trump through what they believed was his preferred political language: dealmaking. But even that failed to shift his public tone. "The last person we need help from is Zelensky," Trump said on March 13. "We don't need Ukraine's help. We know more about drones than anybody." To many in Kyiv, that remark summed up the larger problem. Despite the visible frustration, Ukrainian officials insist they have not given up on Washington. Privately, they remain hopeful that once the Iran war ends, the United States will re-engage more seriously on Ukraine. "We think they'll become more active as the election approaches… and once things with Iran start to settle down a bit," a senior Ukrainian official said. A White House official told the Kyiv Independent that the administration remains committed to ending Russia's war against Ukraine, but pointed back to Trump's own explanation: right now, "the U.S. is busy with Iran." For Kyiv, that answer is unsatisfying but familiar. Merezhko said Ukraine's strategy remains unchanged — stay engaged, remain respectful, and keep pushing. "We try to continue treating Trump with respect because he is the leader of the largest democratic state that is our partner," he said. U.S. Vice President JD Vance (L) and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (R) listen as U.S. President Donald Trump (C) speaks at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S. on April 23, 2026. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images) "Washington continues to help us, although not in the volume we would like." He acknowledged how exhausting that strategy has become. "It is sometimes very difficult, I see it. But we have to show persistence," Merezhko said. "Trump values persistence, so we must keep working no matter how hard it is." Hi, this is Tim Zadorozhnyy, the author of this article. From our newsroom in Ukraine, we report on the issues that matter to a global audience, without outside influence. Independent journalism is only possible with reader support. If you value our work, please consider supporting us — it makes a real difference. Tim Zadorozhnyy is the reporter for the Kyiv Independent, specializing in foreign policy, U.S.-Ukraine relations, and political developments across Europe and Russia. He studied International Relations and European Studies at Lazarski University and Coventry University and is now based in Warsaw. Tim began his journalism career in Odesa in 2022, working as a reporter at a local television channel. After relocating to Warsaw, he spent a year and a half with the Belarusian independent media outlet NEXTA, initially as a news anchor and later as managing editor. Tim is fluent in English, Ukrainian, and Russian.