By Miltary.com | Created at 2026-10-16 14:50:33 | Updated at 2026-10-16 15:35:43
49 minutes ago
Published Oct 16, 2026, 10:45 AM EDT
Trump said he's "not a big fan" of the Ukrainian president, claiming he helped "destroy" his own country while not mentioning Vladimir Putin.
Published Oct 16, 2026, 10:45 AM EDT
U.S. President Donald Trump said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is "not a good guy" as reports suggest that the Eastern European nation has run out of U.S.-made Patriot interceptor missiles in its ongoing war against Russia.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has led to a drawn-out conflict and discontinued support from the United States under the Trump administration, as opposed to financial and military assistance provided by the Biden administration and a previous Congress.
Trump has recently been more critical of Zelensky, suggesting that he should step down, and that Ukraine should find a new leader. The American president has publicly chastised Zelensky while seemingly not doing the same towards Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump, in an appearance on Newsmax’s Finnerty, was asked about Ukraine resuming attacks on Russian energy targets after the president asked Zelensky to stop such strikes.
“Zelensky is not a good guy for us to deal with,” Trump said. “I’m not a big fan of Zelensky. They’ve destroyed that country.”
Patriot Missile Stocks Depleted: Report
As Trump criticizes Zelensky, reports indicate that Ukraine's defense artillery is severely depleted and perhaps nonexistent.
CNN, citing anonymous sources, reported Thursday that Ukraine was not able to intercept "almost all the ballistic missiles from the last strike" because Ukraine lacked sufficient interceptor missiles to do so. Military.com has not verified this reporting.
U.S. Army air defense artillerymen place a Patriot missile system into operation in the Middle East. The Patriot is the Army’s primary terminal-phase anti-ballistic missile system. (U.S. Army Photo)Four people died and 25 suffered injuries after Russian ballistic missiles hit three power plants in Kyiv in an overnight attack on Wednesday morning.
Patriots manufactured by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin are advanced surface-to-air interceptors that protect major cities and energy grids from sophisticated threats from Russia.
Ukraine utilizes two primary variants: the PAC-2, which uses blast-fragmentation to destroy targets, and the PAC-3, which employs precision "hit-to-kill" technology.
The exact number of interceptors provided by Washington remains classified for operational security.
Zelensky on Wednesday asked the U.S. for more Patriot missile interceptors.
“The American president has all the effective and necessary tools to bring peace closer through strength, justice, and pressure on the aggressor," he said. "We ask for additional packages of Patriot missile interceptors for Ukraine.”
(L-R) President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump attend a bilateral meeting during the 80th session of the UN’s General Assembly (UNGA) at the United Nations headquarters on Sept. 23, 2025, in New York City. World leaders convened for the 80th Session of UNGA, with this year’s theme for the annual global meeting being “Better together: 80 years and more for peace, development and human rights.” (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/TNS)In an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan the same day, Zelensky said “we are losing a strong partner” in the United States.
He added that “it’s painful when President Trump chooses one side, not our side. But we are OK that he’s in the middle.”
US and Ukraine's Relationship Changes
The deteriorating weapons stock comes as the relationship between Washington and Kyiv has changed for unknown reasons in recent months, and amid cuts in U.S. military support during President Trump’s second term.
In Fiscal Year 2026, the U.S. allocated $220 million to Kyiv. That equated to a 99% drop from the peak years of the conflict and is in contrast to former President Joe Biden, whose administration urged continued U.S. financial and military assistance overseas.
The PAC-3 MSE is a highly sought-after air defense munition due to its advanced capabilities and versatility. (Official U.S. Army photo)
The strain intensified following an Oct. 9 White House arrangement with Vladimir Putin to release 4.8 million metric tons of Russian diesel into global markets. Seeking to lower domestic fuel costs ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections, the U.S. Treasury issued General License 135 to temporarily waive sanctions.
Zelensky heavily criticized the deal and former Army generals also slammed it, warning it would help Russia.
The Financial Times reported that some U.S. officials explicitly said they would cut intelligence feeds and suspend the PURL weapons procurement mechanism.
“Well, I think they’re going to if they’re going to end up with a settlement of some kind, they’re not going to do it with [Zelensky]," Trump said on Finnerty.
"[Zelensky] doesn’t want to settle. He says he wants to settle, but he doesn’t," Trump added.
