# Zelensky smiles when asked if Trump is making him a scapegoat for low approval ratings

https://mins.news/en/item/103271

- Meduza, 2026-10-16 14:48 UTC
- Politics
- Original: https://meduza.io/en/news/2026/10/16/asked-whether-trump-is-making-him-a-scapegoat-for-his-own-low-approval-ratings-zelensky-simply-smiled

> At a news conference in Brussels, Zelensky declined to discuss his relationship with Trump. Asked whether Trump was using him as a scapegoat for low approval ratings ahead of the U.S. congressional elections, Zelensky paused, smiled, said, “This is my answer,” and left. He also said Starlink service in Ukraine was not fully restored, Patriot missiles remained in significant shortage, and the United States refused his request for extra interceptors. After three days of pausing attacks on Russian oil refineries, he said Ukraine would resume them.

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- [Ukraine’s president takes aim at Trump and Putin at EU summit](https://mins.news/en/item/103573) — Al Jazeera, 2026-10-16
- [Zelensky does not deny becoming Trump’s “scapegoat”](https://mins.news/en/item/103280) — TASS, 2026-10-16
- [Zelenskyy smiles when asked whether Trump is treating him as a ‘scapegoat’](https://mins.news/en/video/103205) — Guardian News, 2026-10-16
