Furious Zelenskyy Strikes Back as Trump’s Plan Backfires!!!!

Summary

Episode Overview

Title: Furious Zelenskyy Strikes Back as Trump’s Plan Backfires!!!!
Date: April 1, 2026
Hosts: Ben, Brett, and Jordy Meiselas (MeidasTouch Network)

In this episode, the Meiselas brothers deliver a passionate breakdown of the escalating geopolitical situation involving Ukraine, Russia, and shifting U.S. foreign policy under Donald Trump. The episode’s primary focus is on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s assertive response to Trump’s controversial sanction removals on Russia, Zelenskyy's leadership in uniting Europe, and the broader implications for global security, with close attention paid to the ongoing war in Ukraine, U.S. relations with NATO, and Russian disinformation campaigns.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Zelenskyy's Bold Response to Trump and Russia

[00:15–03:49]

• Zelenskyy publicly rebukes Trump’s removal of key sanctions on Russian oil and shipping, positioning himself as a cornerstone of European unity and security.

• Emphasis on Ukraine’s evolving role as a European leader, particularly following Trump's antagonistic rhetoric towards NATO.

• Zelenskyy underscores that Ukraine is not simply seeking approval or “liking” from Trump:

  • Notable Quote:

    "I'm not a box of chocolate or a car to be liked or not liked. What matters is I serve my people and fulfill my duties."
    — Volodymyr Zelenskyy [01:42]

• During his Middle East tour, Zelenskyy relates that nations there now see Ukraine as synonymous with Europe and as a security provider, especially regarding advanced drone and defense technology.

2. Speech Excerpts: Ukraine’s Global Security Role

[02:48–03:49]

• Zelenskyy (in a highlighted clip) frames Ukraine’s EU membership as essential to continental security:

  "Ukraine’s EU membership is a security guarantee for us and for Europe. Our potential—human, technological, military—is Europe’s potential. Russia understands this, sometimes better than some in Europe."
  — Volodymyr Zelenskyy [03:05]

• Zelenskyy points out that Russian aggression is aimed at preventing Ukraine’s full entry into the EU, reinforcing the strategic threat Russia poses.

3. U.S. Policy Shift: Focus on Iran Over Ukraine

[03:49–05:43]

• The American administration, per Zelenskyy, has explicitly deprioritized Ukraine in favor of military and diplomatic efforts in Iran.

  • Zelenskyy recounts his team’s meetings with U.S. officials, who repeatedly express their focus on the Middle East.

• Zelenskyy’s frustration is clear as he highlights U.S. messaging that ending the war in Ukraine is no longer the top priority.

  "They said, yes, it's very important for us, the situation in Ukraine... but our army is in Iran and that's why our focus is on Middle East. We hope... we will come back to yours."
  — Volodymyr Zelenskyy [04:44]

4. U.S. Mediation and the Donbas Ultimatum

[05:18–06:31]

• Discussion of U.S. officials pushing Ukraine to withdraw from the Donbas region as a dealmaking concession with Russia.

• Zelenskyy remains adamant: Ukraine will not “give up” its territory.

  "I'm not going to give up Donbas. What are you talking about?"
  — Paraphrased from discussion [05:23–05:43]

• Russian demands continue to be aggressive, giving Ukraine two months to withdraw or face forceful seizure, and seeking to coerce concessions via diplomatic and battlefield pressures.

5. Ukraine’s Continued Outreach and the American Public

[06:31–08:17]

• Despite diminished official support, Zelenskyy believes that ordinary Americans still support Ukraine and value freedom.

  "Despite all the disinformation, American hearts have not grown cold. They support those who fight for freedom and they support us in defending ourselves against Russian aggression."
  — Volodymyr Zelenskyy [07:57]

6. Disinformation and Regional Developments

[09:30–12:00]

• Russian disinformation targets Poland, alleging it is providing airspace for strikes into Russia—an accusation firmly denied by Polish armed forces.
• Russian influence campaigns ramp up ahead of the Hungarian election, supporting the embattled Viktor Orban amid expected substantial foreign election tampering by Russia and Trump’s political machine.
• Notably, the U.S. Treasury has recently lifted sanctions from three Russian shipping vessels, which hosts argue strengthens Russia’s war effort and undermines U.S. alliances.

7. Ukraine’s Military Gains and Defensive Capabilities

[12:00–14:30]

• Despite U.S. policy shifts, Ukraine achieves significant tactical successes:
  • Destruction of major Russian oil export facilities
  • Striking deep into Russian territory, crippling up to 50% of Russian oil refinery capacity.
  • Steadily increasing interception rates of Russian and Iranian drones/missiles; up to 90% in March 2026.
• Many nations are now seeking partnerships with Ukraine for their drone defense technology and experience.

8. Diplomacy with Germany and the Path to Peace

[14:30–15:50]

• Zelenskyy communicates ongoing collaboration with Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merza, emphasizing shared efforts toward European security and peace negotiations.

• Zelenskyy insists Ukraine is always ready for ceasefire agreements—unlike Russia, which continues aggression.

  "Ukraine has never been and will never be an obstacle to peace. We are preparing contacts with partners... to coordinate positions and develop joint steps."
  — Volodymyr Zelenskyy (paraphrased) [15:20]

9. U.S. Conduct and Russian Influence in the Americas

[15:50–16:39]

• Hosts criticize Trump’s allowing Russian oil shipments into Cuba (a violation of both embargo policy and—per hosts—a moral crime), while keeping Cuba's allies locked out.
• Russia rapidly expands its influence in Cuba, to the detriment of U.S. security and regional stability.

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Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• Zelenskyy, asserting independence from Trump’s approval:

  "I'm not a box of chocolate or a car to be liked or not liked. What matters is I serve my people and fulfill my duties." [01:42]

• On Ukraine as a cornerstone of European security:

  "Ukraine's contribution to global stability is seen as Europe's contribution by everyone in the world. So why in some key issues is Ukraine still limited as a part of Europe?... Our potential, human, technological, military, is Europe’s potential." [03:05]

• Rebuking U.S. pressure to cede territory:

  "I'm not going to give up Donbas. Like, what are you talking about?" [05:23]

• On persistent American public support for Ukraine:

  "Despite all the disinformation, American hearts have not grown cold. They support those who fight for freedom and they support us in defending ourselves against Russian aggression." [07:57]

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Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:15–01:42 — Zelenskyy’s initial repudiation of Trump and new European leadership role
• 02:48–03:49 — Zelenskyy’s speech (clip): Ukraine as central to European security
• 04:33–05:18 — U.S. de-prioritizing Ukraine in favor of Iran (Zelenskyy responds)
• 05:43–06:31 — U.S.–Russia–Ukraine territorial negotiations ("Give up Donbas" controversy)
• 07:43–08:17 — Zelenskyy addresses U.S. audience and reiterates shared democratic values
• 09:30–12:00 — Polish airspace disinformation and Russian election interference
• 12:00–14:30 — Detailed breakdown of Ukraine’s successful strikes on Russian infrastructure
• 14:30–15:50 — The German connection and Zelenskyy’s push for peace
• 15:50–16:39 — U.S. appeasement toward Russia in the Western Hemisphere

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Tone and Style

The episode blends urgent, analytical commentary with the Meiselas brothers’ signature informal, impassioned style, marked by a deep frustration with U.S. policy under Trump. The hosts are unapologetically critical of Trump’s alignment with Russian interests and assertive in their admiration for Zelenskyy’s steadfast leadership. Frequent use of direct audio from Zelenskyy ensures his voice and message stand out amid the analysis.

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For those who missed the episode:
This episode is a must-listen for anyone seeking to understand the rapidly shifting global alliances, Russia’s intensifying pressure on Ukraine and Europe, and the profound stakes of U.S. foreign policy choices under Trump. The brothers’ insightful commentary, Zelenskyy’s stirring words, and the detailed breakdown of events offer a compelling and urgent call to attention.

Transcript

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[Political Commentator]

A very furious Ukrainian President Zelensky is striking back hard and checkmating Donald Trump in public as Donald Trump removed sanctions against Russian oil. And then just yesterday Trump removed additional sanctions against Russian shipping vessels. As Donald Trump continues to attack NATO and say that after this war is over with Donald Trump's catastrophic war against Iran, we're going to pull out of NATO or we'll see what we're going to do about NATO. Zelensky is uniting Europe and making it very clear not only is Ukraine part of Europe, but Ukraine is going to be a leader in Europe when it is welcomed into the European Union eventually. And it should have already happened already in my humble opinion. But that, that Ukraine is providing the security umbrella for Europe and that a strong European security umbrella could allow Europe to become a leader of the free world. And by the way, I wouldn't be shocked if that aligns with kind of the Canadian military interests as well and then some of the interests in Asia that Mike Mark Carney is helping to unite. And I think Zelensky is a critical and pivotal player in that. Let me just show you what went down over the to 24 hours as well. I mean, it's one of the things that Zelensky's been repeating though is he goes, you know, what do you think about Donald Trump liking you and does he like you? Zelensky goes, look, I'm not a box of chocolate or a car to be liked or not liked. What matters is I serve my people and fulfill my duties. And then yesterday President Zelensky gave this powerful speech and said, you know, when I toured the Middle east, when I met with the leaders of Qatar and UAE and Saudi Arabia and Jordan and Kuwait and they were asking for Ukrainians help in building a security umbrella there that the United States could not do as they were asking for our drone interceptor technology, our drone surveillance technology, our affirmative drone offensive capabilities, our unmanned vessel capabilities and unmanned vessel interceptor technology. What was obvious to these Arab nations is that Ukraine is Europe, Europe is Ukraine. And Ukraine is a leader in providing security throughout for its allies. Watch what he said yesterday. Powerful speech indeed. Here, play this clip.

[Volodymyr Zelenskyy]

In the Middle east and the Gulf, when countries turn to Ukraine for support, they see Ukraine as Europe. They see it as working with Europe. No one there doubts that Ukraine is Europe. Ukraine's contribution to global stability is seen as Europe's contribution by everyone in the world. So why in some key issues is Ukraine still limited as a part of Europe? Ukraine's EU membership is a security guarantee for us and for Europe. Our potential human technological military is Europe's potential. Russia understands this sometimes better than some in Europe. That is why Russia does everything to stop Ukraine from joining the eu. And that is why we are doing everything to make it happen.

[Political Commentator]

But then Zelensky also reflected about how the US Keeps on saying, well, we're not really interested in talking about Russian Russia's invasion of Ukraine anymore. We're too busy dealing with Iran. So, yeah, we're going to let up the sanctions on Russia and let them sell their oil and make billions of dollars a day. We're going to invite the Russian Duma leaders to Capitol Hill and we're going to then also release Russian sanctions, remove Russian sanctions on certain vessels. But we're just too busy to deal with that. We're focused on Iran right now. What are you focused on doing there? Donald Trump doing press conferen, where he just lies every day. Here, play this clip.

[Volodymyr Zelenskyy]

We have such risks, of course, because American side, it's not a secret. They're very, very open with this, that their focus is Iran, that Ukraine is not the first priority. They shared this message with, with my team and my team said that, look, but in any way, we have such big, they said, yes, it's very important for us, the situation in Ukraine, the situation with the war, Russia against Ukraine. But you know this, our army is in Iran and that's why our focus is on Middle East. We hope, they say, we hope that in the closest future the war will end and we will come back to yours.

[Political Commentator]

And then Zelenskyy in this very revealing moment says, I'll tell you what the United States has been repeating over and over again that Donald Trump and Marco Rubio in the US they keep on saying, withdraw from Donbas, get out of Donbas. And then we could try to make a deal. You just give up your territory, give up the Donbas region. And Zelensky's like, I'm not going to give up Donbas. Like, what are you talking about Here, play this clip.

[Ukrainian Official]

You have to withdraw and we will give you security guarantees. And it doesn't matter what way I heard it, not once. So it's understandable for us and it's understandable for Russians and it's very understandable for American side. Side, it's truth. But it's not about just America, American side. It's the ultimatum from Russia for today. American side can't change the ultimatum of Russia. I think they can. I think that President Trump had enough power for this. He demonstrated it not once. He has this to change Russian, this, these narratives.

[Political Commentator]

And it's notable because in the past 12 hours as well, Russia has repeated its public demand. Zelensky, Ukraine, withdraw from Donbas immediately. You have two months to withdraw or we are going to seize it by force. You've been trying to seize it by force. You want Donald Trump to extort Zelensky or to help hand over territory to you through coercion and other means that which you can obtain on the battlefield through your invasion of Ukraine. And that's what Russia views as a peace deal. They want Donbas, then they're going to go into Kyiv. They're just going to keep taking, taking, taking. That is who they are. I mean, no doubt that is who they are. Going back to Zelensky here for a moment as well during the speech also, he said, look, you know, we've always tried to have the backs of the people in Iran. And despite the fact that there's so much disinformation in the United States right now, we still believe that the American hearts have not grown so cold. And again, this is a clear reference to Donald Trump. Here. Play this clip.

[Volodymyr Zelenskyy]

We also see that many Iranians around the world respect Ukraine and are grateful that we did not stay silent about their pain and their desire to end dictatorship and live freely. And we all should act to help them. Of course. And we feel that despite all the disinformation, American hearts have not grown cold. They support those who fight for freedom and they support us in defending ourselves against Russian aggression. It's very important.

[Ben Meiselis]

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[Political Commentator]

Now an official account of the Polish armed forces also refuted Russia's disinformation campaign aimed at convincing audiences that Ukraine is using Polish airspace for strikes on Russian territory. You had Polish armed forces statement in connection with false information appearing in the public domain. I firmly emphasize claims about the alleged provision of Polish airspace for offensive operations against the Russian Federation are completely false and have no basis in fact. Also, Russia's turning up its disinformation campaign and trying to help Viktor Orban who is far behind in the election which is set to take place in less than two weeks in Hungary where we expect a pro democracy coalition to beat Viktor. But we also expect there to be a huge amount of tampering in that election by Putin and by Trump who are trying to prop Orban up. As I mentioned in the past 24 to 48 hours, the United States removing sanctions against Russian vessels, they already review remove sanctions against Russian oil, but now they're removing sanctions against Russian vessels themselves as well. The United States has removed sanctions from three Russian vessels, according to an update from the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control. The ships affected are the container vessels and a list who they are. Ship tracking data shows that these vessels are currently throughout various locations. With sanctions lifted, the vessels can once again access ports, insurance, financial transactions and international maritime services that had previously been restricted under U.S. sanctions. So folks, as Russia is materially helping Iran and they're saying it publicly, both the Iranian President Possesski and Putin, they're saying it publicly as they're helping to arm Iran, attack American military bases with precision attack American soldiers. As that is taking place, Donald Trump keeps lifting sanctions and keeps on helping Putin over and over and over again. Now one thing that Zelenskyy is doing though as Donald Trump is lifting the sanctions and I highlighted this in a report that I did yesterday, Zelenskyy has been very successful in attacking all of the Russian bases of their oil exports, all of their oil export centers. Russia's seaborne oil exports collapsed in the wake of Ukraine's strikes on various Russian ports. With only 22 tankers for the whole of last week, down 45% and as this Kiev independent story explains, hundreds of kilometers inside Russia, oil refineries burst into flames. Like 40% of the oil refineries in Russia have now been taken out. Between 40 and 50% by Ukraine. And the sky above airfields and weapon factories are filled with thick black smoke. The data shows Ukraine is systematically targeting Russian air defense systems to open gaps in coverage and reach critical infrastructure. Infrastructure like weapons factories deep inside the territory. Also, in terms of Ukraine's ability to strike down these FPV drones, ballistic missiles and Shahi drones. Take a look at Ukraine's interception rate as it continues to improve. Right. In October 2025, 79%. 84% in November, 81% in December and 2026. In January, 83% interception rate rate, 87% interception rate in February, a 90% interception rate in March. No wonder all of these nations want to cut deals with Ukraine to help stop the Iranian ballistic missile Shaheen drones and FPV drones as well. Finally, Zelensky posted the message about his conversations with the Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merza. During my conversation with the Chancellor of Germany, I informed him about my visit to countries in the Middle east and the protection systems we are offering to partners. I am grateful for the high assessment of our contribution to strengthening the protection of lives. Ukraine is ready for similar cooperation with European countries for the security of our continent. Friedrich updated me on his diplomatic contacts. We discussed in detail the negotiation process aimed at ending Russia's war against Ukraine, as well as our communication with the American side. Thank you for your principled position. Ukraine has never been and will never be an obstacle to peace. We are preparing contacts with partners in a broader format to coordinate positions and develop joint steps. Next month, we'll also see extensive bilateral work with Germany. Thank you. And then in this message that Zelinsky made also in the past 12 hours, he said, look, we're ready for any ceasefire, an easter ceasefire, a 30 day ceasefire, a 60 day ceasefire. We are not the barrier to ceasefires and peace. We're trying to have peace. Russia is the bad guy. It's pretty obvious, right? The problem is that Trump is the bad guy and has turned the US Into Putin bootlicker right now. And we all need to pay attention to what's taking place before our very eyes. The Russian Duma going to the Capitol last week, meeting with the State Department. The top Russian Duma leaders basically like their senators. Donald Trump removing Russian oil sanctions. Donald Trump removing sanctions from Russian vessels. Donald Trump and Marco Rubio and his regime claiming that Russia isn't providing support to Iran and they don't know about it. While Iran targets American military bases. We have 13 military bases in the Middle east that have now been evacuated as a result of Iran being able to strike them with basically with impunity. Right. You had the big strike in Saudi Arabia and Riyadh. Who do you think is giving them this information? It's the Russians. We all know it's the Russians. Oh, yeah, and by the way, Donald Trump letting the Russian ship bring the oil into Cuba, which, by the way, it's a war crime that Donald Trump was committing against Cuba. The embargo is a crime against humanity, regardless of your views of the Cuban regime. What Donald Trump was doing was a crime against humanity of the Cuban people, in my humble opinion. But Donald Trump was acting all tough. I did this embargo. Nobody can get through. Nobody can go to Cuba. And the Russian ship just went right into Cuba. And Donald Trump's like, of course you can come in, but Mexico, you can. Colombia, you can't. Canada, you can't. None of our allies can. Just Russia can help Cuba. Why? To set up a base in Cuba right now to. To more strongly cement Russian influence over Cuba right off the coast of Florida. Like, what are we doing here? What are we doing here? Anyway, Hit subscribe. Subscribe. Help me get to 7 million subscribers. Let's get. Let's hit 7 million together. I think we'll get there. Thanks for watching and have a good one. Love this video. 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