President Donald Trump called for a new Ukrainian leader after clashing with Volodymyr Zelenskyy over refinery strikes and an American deal to buy Russian diesel.
President Donald Trump said Saturday that Ukraine should replace President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, escalating tensions between the two governments over Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries and an American agreement to buy Russian diesel.
Speaking to reporters outside the White House on the South Lawn before departing for a midterm campaign rally in Clarksville, Tennessee, Fox News reported that Trump argued Zelenskyy had failed to negotiate an end to the war with Russia. Trump also insisted Ukraine must stop hitting Russian refineries because the attacks disrupt international fuel markets.
The confrontation followed an announcement on Friday that Washington had reached an agreement with Moscow to suspend sanctions on Russian diesel exports until April 7. Under the arrangement, which followed earlier reports that Trump struck a deal with Putin to import Russian fuel, Russia agreed to release millions of tons of diesel to increase global supplies and curb rising costs at the pump.
Clashing over fuel prices and refinery strikes
Al Jazeera reported that Trump sharply criticized Zelenskyy’s handling of the war, remarking that Ukraine has lost 30 percent of its territory and suffered massive casualties. Trump argued the war began due to incompetence and would never have started if he had been president in 2022. He added, “I suggest they get a new leader who can make a deal,” claiming that Zelenskyy never reaches an agreement despite having opportunities to do so.
Trump warned that Zelenskyy’s attacks on Russian refineries were driving global fuel troubles. He told reporters that while Ukraine could carry out other actions against Russia, it must leave refineries alone because damaging them creates worldwide problems. The US administration has faced record-high diesel prices ahead of the US midterm elections, driven by the war in Iran that began in February. According to BBC News, that conflict has sent petrol and diesel prices soaring, worsening broad inflation and hurting Trump’s standing with the American public, though Trump has sought to pin the blame for diesel costs on Ukraine’s refinery strikes.
Kyiv pushes back against Trump’s statements
Ukrainian officials swiftly rejected Trump’s calls for a leadership change. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha defended Zelenskyy in a post on X, stating that the president retains the backing of the Ukrainian people, who alone hold the right to choose their leader. Sybiha wrote that foreign criticism merely proved Zelenskyy was doing his job well.
Zelenskyy directed his anger at Washington’s agreement to ease diesel penalties on Moscow. On Saturday, Russian bombardments killed at least 20 people in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, prompting Zelenskyy to write on X that Moscow showed its gratitude for the lifted sanctions by dropping five glide bombs onto residential buildings. Zelenskyy said Russian leaders interpret any reduction in pressure as permission to continue dropping bombs on cities. He warned that every billion dollars Russia collects from energy sales will fund weapons parts, drone upgrades, missile manufacturing and mercenary recruitment.
European allies prepare new sanctions
While Trump envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner met with Ukrainian officials in Miami on Friday to discuss a framework to end the fighting, European leaders distanced themselves from Washington’s stance. European allies voiced dismay at the American diesel arrangement and affirmed their commitment to existing sanctions.
European Union foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas criticized the suspension of export restrictions, arguing that it hands Moscow fresh revenue to continue its military campaign. “This is not the time to ease pressure on Russia, and Europe won’t,” Kallas said on Saturday. She announced that European foreign ministers plan to approve the bloc’s largest sanctions package against Russia since the February 2022 invasion on Monday.
Meanwhile, Ukraine worked with European partners to bolster its defenses against intensified Russian aerial bombardments, which have killed at least 60 people over four days. Zelenskyy held talks with French President Emmanuel Macron regarding air defense support and spoke with Finnish President Alexander Stubb about incoming ammunition shipments for F-16 fighters that intercept Shahed drones.
