Trump Says Ukraine Should Get a New Leader in Clash Over Russian Diesel Deal
A day after announcing a deal to bring Russian diesel to U.S. markets, President Trump told Ukraine's Zelensky to stop striking refineries. Zelensky said Sunday that Kyiv will halt the strikes if Moscow stops hitting Ukraine's energy grid.
President Donald Trump on Saturday said it is "time for Ukraine to get a new president," blaming Volodymyr Zelensky for Russia's continuing war on Ukraine and for Kyiv's strikes on Russian oil refineries, which Trump said were driving up diesel prices in the United States and around the world.
Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Trump said he had warned Zelensky to leave refineries alone. "I said to him, 'Do what you want. Don't hit refineries. There's plenty of targets. Don't hit refineries.' And he went out and he hit," Trump said. "He better damn well stop."
"I suggest they get a new leader who can make a deal because he could have made many deals, but for some reason he never does," Trump added, according to Reuters.
The broadside came a day after Trump announced an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin to supply Russian diesel to the United States and world markets, a deal Trump said would help bring down fuel prices. Zelensky criticized the agreement, warning that it would give Moscow money to keep fighting. He called the deal "not fair and not honest."
On Sunday, Zelensky offered a way back. Writing on Telegram, he said Ukraine is ready to halt its strikes on Russian refineries if Moscow stops its own attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure. Any de-escalation has to be mutual and come with real guarantees, he said.
Zelensky said he would keep talking with European leaders on Sunday, and that there are daily conversations about new air-defense packages, including ammunition for combat aircraft. He also said the death toll from Russia's Saturday strikes on Zaporizhzhia had risen to 23 people, including four children, after heavy bombardment of the southern city.
The disagreement has been building for days. Ukrainian and European officials met U.S. negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff in Miami on Friday to work on a common proposal for ending the war, according to a person familiar with the talks. Trump announced the diesel deal while the negotiations were still underway. Zelensky said the move caught Kyiv by surprise.
Reactions split along familiar lines. Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev called Trump's intervention "iconic and historic," saying Ukraine "needs leadership actually focused on peace." European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the diesel deal "provides Moscow with more revenues to wage war," adding that "this is not the time to ease pressure on Russia, and Europe won't." A spokesperson for British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Burnham spoke with Zelensky and offered "complete solidarity," with both leaders agreeing that Russia should accept an "immediate energy ceasefire" and end attacks on shipping in the Black Sea.
Energy analysts quoted by the Wall Street Journal said the announced Russian diesel quantities are limited, and that the main reason fuel prices have risen this year is the U.S.-Iran conflict, not Ukraine's refinery strikes.
