The US President Donald Trump said that Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky is the last person the US needs help from.
He stated this in a telephone interview with NBC News.
This is how he reacted to the Ukrainian presidentʼs offer to help American troops and their allies in the Middle East intercept Iranian drones.
At the same time, he refused to comment on whether the US had accepted Ukraineʼs assistance with drone interception technology.
Trump was also asked to comment on reports that Russia was sharing intelligence with Iran on the location of the US troops. Trump responded: "Maybe Russia is providing information, maybe not."
Asked about his decision to temporarily lift some sanctions on Russian oil, Trump said: "I want the world to have oil. I want to have oil." He added that the sanctions would be reinstated "as soon as the crisis is over."
When asked about criticism from some foreign leaders over the lifting of sanctions, Trump did not answer directly, but instead began to criticize Zelensky: "Iʼm surprised Zelensky doesnʼt want to make a deal. Tell Zelensky to make a deal, because Putin is ready to make a deal."
At the same time, speaking about Iran and ending the war there, the American leader stated that "Iran wants to make a deal, and I donʼt want to make one because the conditions are not good enough yet".
He also said he was appealing to "the many countries that have been affected by Iranʼs thuggish actions" to help secure the Strait of Hormuz — a key sea route for oil tankers — as global oil prices surged amid the war.
War in the Middle East
On the morning of February 28, the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran. These attacks killed Iranʼs Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and almost the entire military leadership of the country — about 40 key high-ranking officials. A new ayatollah was elected on March 8, and he was Mojtaba Khamenei (the son of the deceased Ali Khamenei).
Iran, in response to the US and Israeli attacks, has begun shelling US bases in Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE and firing missiles at Israel. Some Iranian drones and missiles have hit infrastructure and residential areas in Arab countries.
The conflict has brought tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow sea corridor between Iran and Oman that connects the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean, to a near standstill. About a fifth of the world’s oil exports pass through it — tens of millions of barrels a day. Oil, gas, and precious metals have skyrocketed in price.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.