Trump Says Ukraine Needs a New President, Blaming Zelenskyy for High Diesel Prices

US President Donald Trump on Saturday openly called for Ukraine to replace Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying it was "time for Ukraine to get a new president." The remark, made to reporters, marks one of the sharpest public breaks between Washington and Kyiv since Russia's full-scale invasion more than four and a half years ago, and it came barely a day after Trump agreed to buy Russian diesel in a bid to ease fuel prices before the US midterm elections.

Refineries at the centre of the rift

Trump tied his comments directly to Ukraine's long-range drone campaign against Russian oil refineries. He said he had told Zelenskyy that Ukraine could hit any Russian target it wanted except refineries, because the resulting diesel shortage was a global problem hurting American farmers and ranchers. Zelenskyy, he argued, had ignored that request and had passed up many chances to settle the war. Trump said Ukraine should find a leader who can make a deal.

According to Axios, a US official said the diesel arrangement was struck after Zelenskyy ignored about half a dozen American requests to stop hitting Russian refineries. Zelenskyy, for his part, has told Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner that Ukraine would stop targeting refineries if Russia stopped attacking Ukrainian power plants.

The diesel deal

On Friday, after a call with Vladimir Putin, Trump announced that Russia would supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel immediately, another 500,000 tons in November and 1 million tons after that, with a further 3 million tons to follow. To make the trade possible, Washington temporarily eased sanctions on Russian diesel exports. That is a striking reversal: only last month Trump signed a sweeping sanctions law aimed at choking off the oil and gas revenue that funds Russia's war.

Zelenskyy called the deal unfair and dishonest, and said Kyiv had not been told about it beforehand. A senior Ukrainian official told the Associated Press that the announcement had nothing to do with the peace proposal being discussed with US negotiators in Florida. The Ukrainian delegation has since left for home.

Bombs fall as the deal is announced

The diplomatic clash played out against heavy Russian strikes. Ukrainian officials said Russian aerial bombs on residential buildings in the Zaporizhzhia region killed at least 20 people, including three children, while a daytime missile attack on Kyiv wounded four. Zelenskyy said Moscow had read the easing of sanctions as permission to keep fighting, and warned that every extra billion dollars Russia earns from energy exports would go into missiles, drones and recruitment.

Europe pushes back

European allies made clear they would not follow Washington's lead. Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Stockholm regretted the agreement and noted that the European Union is set to adopt its broadest sanctions package yet on Monday, with about 1,600 listings targeting Russia's military industry. Germany said its commitment to sanctions and to Ukraine was unchanged. Poland's Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski questioned whether Russia, whose refining capacity has been badly damaged, can deliver the promised volumes at all.

Why India is watching

For India, a major buyer of Russian crude and a large exporter of refined fuels, any shift in Western sanctions on Russian oil products could reshape global diesel flows and pricing. A Washington that is easing curbs on Russian fuel while Europe tightens them adds another layer of uncertainty for refiners and traders navigating the market.

This is an original summary based on public reporting. See our editorial policy for how we source, write, and correct our stories.