Donald Trump has called for Ukraine to choose a new leader, making the demand just a day after announcing an oil agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Speaking to reporters outside the White House on Saturday, Trump said Ukraine needed a leader capable of reaching a deal.
“He could have made many deals, and for some reason, he never does,” Trump said.
His comments followed a strike by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s forces on a major Russian oil facility. The attack came only hours after Trump had reportedly caught Kyiv off guard by agreeing to ease sanctions on Russian oil, with the US midterm elections only weeks away.
Trump said on Friday that the agreement with Putin would allow nearly two million tons of Russian oil to enter the United States, as his administration seeks to respond to rising fuel prices and protect his political standing.
“He better damn well stop,” Trump told reporters, referring to Ukraine’s attacks on Russian energy infrastructure.
Trump also blamed Zelensky for the conflict, saying the war began because of what he described as “incompetence” by the Ukrainian president.
“That’s a war that should have never started. And I think it’s time for Ukraine to get a new president,” Trump said.
Donald Trump has reportedly urged Ukraine to choose “a new leader” after reaching an oil agreement with Vladimir Putin
The remarks came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky launched an attack on a major oil hub, following Trump’s surprise decision to ease restrictions on Russian crude
Trump has faced growing voter criticism over the conflict involving Iran, while diesel prices have climbed sharply—from $3.68 per gallon a year ago to $6.28 by Friday.
According to reports, Trump moved forward with the Russian oil agreement after Zelensky rejected repeated requests to stop attacks on Russia’s oil infrastructure.
A US official told Axios that Zelensky was “misreading the room,” adding that continued strikes on refineries were weakening the goodwill he had developed with Trump during the previous six months.
Ukraine’s attacks on Russia’s energy sector have placed significant pressure on Putin’s government. However, Russia reportedly retains enough surplus diesel to supply the United States.
Soon after the Trump-Putin conversation, Russian forces carried out another strike on sleeping civilians in Zaporizhzhia, according to the report. Seven people were killed, including at least three girls, while 10 others were injured and 16 were reported missing.
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The latest attack brought the reported number of civilians killed by Russia over a three-day period to nearly 90.
The proposed diesel deal shocked officials in Kyiv. Zelensky accused Trump of displaying weakness by giving in to Putin’s demands.
Trump, however, said Zelensky had ignored six appeals to suspend attacks on Russian oil refineries. Axios reported that the strikes were contributing to higher fuel costs, particularly for diesel, ahead of the US midterm elections.
“I suggest they get a new leader who can make a deal,” Trump told reporters outside the White House on Saturday. “He could have made many deals, and for some reason, he never does.”
Trump previously announced an agreement with Putin that would bring nearly two million tons of Russian oil into the United States as he attempts to ease pressure from rising fuel prices
Twisting the knife, Putin’s foreign affairs aide, Yury Ushakov, said the one-and-a-half-hour call with Trump was so friendly ‘neither side wanted to hang up first.’
Trump said he was ‘ready to continue communicating with Vladimir Putin this evening, through the night, and into the next day.’
Zelensky hit back after admitting being blindsided by the US suspending sanctions to buy Russian diesel.
In devastating overnight strikes, he pummeled the key Yug Rusi oil-loading terminal in Rostov-on-Don, which handles petroleum products from the Novoshakhtinsk refinery.
There were fires at the key exporting hub with a 3.5-million-ton annual capacity after a 50-drone swarm.
A linked railway bridge in Rostov-on-Don was also damaged, with traffic halted in both directions, and two ships in the Sea of Azov were reportedly attacked.
Ukrainian officials defiantly threatened to keep striking Russian oil facilities.
Hitting back at Trump, Zelensky said overnight: ‘Russia is weaker on the front lines than at any other time during the war. That is why Putin relies on terror.
‘That is why he relies on attempts to reach backroom deals for one concession or another, to buy more time and opportunities for the war.
‘Any weakening of sanctions against Russia without a clear and lasting de-escalation agreement with Russia is an obvious sign of weakness.’
