Donald Trump has called for Ukraine to replace President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, accusing him of failing to reach a deal to end the war and criticising Kyiv’s attacks on Russian oil refineries.
Speaking at the White House on Saturday, the US president said: “I suggest they get a new leader who can make a deal,” adding that “for some reason [Zelenskyy] never does.”
Mr Trump said Ukraine had “lost 30 percent of your country” and claimed more than two million people had been killed in the conflict. “That’s a war that should have never have started. And I think it’s time for Ukraine to get a new president,” he said.
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andriy Sybiga, defended Mr Zelenskyy, saying the Ukrainian people had the right to choose their leader.
“He has the support of the Ukrainian people, and they have the right to decide,” Mr Sybiga said in a post on X. “Statements from abroad only confirm that he is doing his job well. He deserves support.”
Mr Trump has repeatedly urged Kyiv to stop attacks on Russian energy infrastructure. His latest remarks came after he announced a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to buy diesel from Russia in an effort to reduce fuel prices before the US midterm elections.
He said Russia would immediately supply more than 300,000 tonnes of diesel, followed by 500,000 tonnes in November and a further one million tonnes “immediately thereafter”. An additional three million tonnes would be delivered “within a short period of time”, he added.
Ukraine condemns Russia diesel deal
The agreement has angered the Ukrainian government, which warned that additional Russian export revenue could help fund weapons components, drones, missiles and the recruitment of mercenaries.
After Russian strikes killed at least 20 people in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, Mr Zelenskyy said: “Today, Russia expressed its thanks for the lifting of sanctions on diesel exports by dropping five glide bombs on residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia.”
He said Moscow interpreted any easing of pressure as permission to continue fighting and attacking Ukrainian cities. Mr Zelenskyy also warned of a heightened risk of further missile strikes and discussed strengthening air defences with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Ukraine’s European allies have expressed dismay at the diesel deal and said they remained committed to sanctions against Russia. The announcement came in contrast to a Russia sanctions law Mr Trump signed last month targeting the oil and gas revenues that support the war.
Trump’s comments followed a series of Russian strikes that Ukrainian officials said had killed at least 60 people over four days. Russia and Ukraine remain engaged in a long-range aerial conflict while their forces are largely deadlocked along the front line, more than four and a half years after Moscow’s full-scale invasion.
Mr Trump also said that, had he been US president in 2022, the war would never have begun, describing its outbreak as the result of “incompetence”.
