US President Donald Trump has called on Ukraine to replace Volodymyr Zelenskyy, lashing out at the Ukrainian leader for strikes on Russian oil refineries that have contributed to rising global diesel prices.
Saturday’s criticism came as tensions between the United States and Ukraine escalated after Trump announced a diesel supply deal with Russia.
Recommended Stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
The sharp rise in global fuel prices, which followed the outbreak of the U.S.-Israel war on Iran, has become a political liability for Trump’s Republican Party ahead of next month’s midterm elections, in which opposition Democrats could take control of one or both houses of Congress.
“I think it’s time for Ukraine to have a new president,” Trump told reporters at the White House, saying Zelensky had damaged the world’s diesel supply by hitting Russian refineries.
“He wants to create problems for our farmers and ranchers with diesel fuel, because Russia supplies a lot of the diesel fuel around the world,” Trump said.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, however, defended Zelensky in a message on X.
“He has the support of the Ukrainian people and he has the right to decide,” Sybiha wrote. “The statements coming from abroad only confirm that he is doing his job well. He deserves our support.”
Trump, who has been urging Zelensky to stop attacking Russian energy infrastructure for weeks, reached a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday to buy diesel from Russia in an effort to reduce high fuel prices.
The deal marked a stunning reversal of years of pressure from Washington on Russia following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Trump has sought to blame record U.S. diesel prices on Ukraine rather than the U.S.-led war in Iran.
Mass attacks
The US-Russia deal sparked a furious response from Zelensky, who said it had emboldened Moscow. He linked the deal to a Russian attack on Saturday that killed 20 people, including three children, in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia.
“Today, Russia thanked Russia for lifting sanctions on diesel exports by dropping five hover bombs on residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia,” Zelenskyy said.
“Last night once again confirmed that Russia perceives any easing of pressure as a signal that it is supposed to be able to continue fighting, that it is supposed to continue dropping bombs on cities,” he said. “Different signals are needed.”
The assault on Zaporizhzhia was the third mass-casualty attack on Ukraine in four days.
Nearly 80 civilians were killed in Russian strikes Wednesday and Thursday, including at least 30 killed by a bomb in the eastern garrison town of Kramatorsk and another 22 by a missile in the town of Pryluky, about 80 miles (130 km) east of kyiv.
Trump’s announcement about the diesel deal stood in stark contrast to a sweeping Russia sanctions law he signed last month aimed at cracking down on Moscow’s oil and gas revenues that are fueling the war against Ukraine.
He announced the deal Friday amid talks between Ukrainian and European officials with U.S. negotiators in Miami, Florida, who aimed to hammer out a joint proposal to end the war, according to the Reuters news agency.
In his remarks at the White House, Trump criticized Zelensky for the lack of a peace deal while demanding an end to Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy facilities.
“I told him, ‘Do what you want. Don’t hit the refineries. There are a lot of targets. Don’t hit the refineries.’ And he came out and he hit,” Trump said. “He better stop.”
“I suggest they pick a new leader who can make a deal, because he could have made a lot of deals, but for one reason or another he never does,” Trump added.
The diesel deal has been criticized by U.S. lawmakers, including one of Trump’s Republican colleagues, Rep. Don Bacon, who said it was time to implement more of the sanctions Congress had recently passed, not roll back them.
Ukraine’s European allies also expressed dismay at the Russian deal and said they remained committed to sanctions.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham spoke with Zelensky on Saturday and said London would strengthen its sanctions against Russia, according to a Downing Street spokesperson.
Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said that every additional billion dollars Russia earns from exports would help finance weapons components, drone upgrades, missile production and mercenary recruitment, and that Moscow would only be ready to stop when its combat capability declined.
Zelensky said Ukraine was coordinating measures to counter additional revenue Russia would receive and that he had spoken to French President Emmanuel Macron about strengthening Ukraine’s air defense.
He then warned of an increased risk of further missile strikes in the coming days.
Zelensky also said he had discussed developments with Finnish President Alexander Stubb and that Ukraine would receive ammunition in the coming days for F-16 fighter jets used to intercept Russian Shahed drones.
Gn usa
