President Trump launched a fierce attack on Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday, declaring that Ukraine should consider choosing “a new president.”
His remarks came only hours after the administration announced an agreement allowing Russia to provide 300,000 metric tons of diesel to the United States and international energy markets.
Trump said the arrangement was prompted in part by Zelensky’s continued strikes on Russian oil refineries, despite the president’s request that Kyiv halt the attacks.
“I said to him: ‘Do what you want, don’t hit refineries,’” Trump told reporters as he departed the White House on Saturday afternoon for a rally in Tennessee.
He criticized Zelensky over his failure to end the war in Ukraine, which began when Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion in February 2022.
“You’ve lost 30% of your country and you’ve had over a million people killed. … I think it’s time for Ukraine to get a new president,” Trump said angrily.
“Zelensky could have settled this war many times – many, many times. And he chooses not to. Very difficult. It’s a war that should have never been started,” he added.
Trump reiterated that he had warned Zelensky not to attack Russian refineries.
“That’s a world problem that’s causing. And he wants to make problems for the world,” Trump said of the Ukrainian leader.
“He’d better damned well stop,” Trump said, arguing that Kyiv should “get a new leader who can make a deal.”
Average diesel prices in the United States have climbed above $6 a gallon, increasing costs for farmers and consumers. Trump was traveling to Tennessee as part of a series of visits to Republican-leaning states ahead of the midterm elections. GOP candidates are facing close contests in several agricultural states, including Iowa and Kansas, where party operatives have partly blamed high fuel prices for the political pressure.
CHECK THIS OUT: 25 Women Freed from Forced Prostitution by Criminal Gang
The comments represented some of Trump’s harshest criticism of Zelensky since the contentious Oval Office meeting in February 2025, when Vice President JD Vance sharply confronted the Ukrainian president.
Zelensky responded with a pointed post on X after Moscow carried out a major overnight air assault on Ukraine that killed at least 17 people, including three children.
“Today, Russia expressed its thanks for the lifting of sanctions on diesel exports by dropping five glide bombs on residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia,” he wrote.
“Last night confirmed once again that in Russia, they take any easing of pressure to mean they can keep fighting, to mean they can keep dropping bombs on cities.”
The agreement has also drawn criticism from some Republicans, who argue that easing sanctions on Russia could undermine efforts to pressure Putin into ending the war.
“Unfortunately, while I understand the desire to bring down diesel prices, I am concerned the lifting of sanctions on Russian oil will only fund the Kremlin’s war machine—emboldening more violence and destruction, as we have seen in recent days,” Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) wrote on X Friday.
Trump’s new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, defended the policy during an appearance on Fox & Friends Weekend on Saturday, saying the president was focused on creating “solutions.”
“President Trump has heard people have been frustrated with the gas prices. People are frustrated with the increasing grocery prices,” she said.
“And he is delivering what he always does, which are solutions.”
