Trump Says Ukraine Should Get a New President, a Day After His Diesel Deal With Putin

US President Donald Trump has publicly called for Ukraine to replace its leader. Speaking to reporters outside the White House on Saturday, he said Volodymyr Zelensky "could have settled this war many times" and "chooses not to", and that Kyiv "better damn well stop" striking Russian oil refineries. Then he added:

“I think it's time for Ukraine to get a new president.”

— Donald Trump, US President, to reporters outside the White House (via The Washington Post)

A day after the diesel deal

The outburst followed Friday's announcement of a deal with Russia. After a call with Vladimir Putin, Trump said the US is suspending sanctions on Russian diesel exports until 7 April 2027. Russia is to release 300,000 tonnes straight away, 500,000 in November and more later, and the White House hopes that will bring down record fuel prices before the 3 November midterm elections. Diesel has soared since the war with Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz: the US average is $6.28 a gallon, against $3.68 a year ago.

Zelensky called the deal "a weak decision by our strong partners" that only feeds Putin, and accused Trump of using the peace talks as a smokescreen, according to Politico. Ukrainian officials who took part in talks with the US in Miami on 9 and 10 October told the Kyiv Independent they had expected to discuss an energy ceasefire with equal demands on both sides. Instead, they said, Washington struck an economic deal with Moscow while pressing Kyiv to stop the refinery attacks.

Moscow cheers, Europe objects

Putin's envoy Kirill Dmitriev welcomed Trump's words:

“iconic and historic”

— Kirill Dmitriev, Vladimir Putin's envoy, on Trump's remarks (via BBC)

He said Ukraine "needs leadership actually focused on peace". Europe sounded different. EU foreign-policy chief Kaja Kallas said:

“Suspending sanctions on Russian diesel provides Moscow with more revenues to wage war. This is not the time to ease pressure on Russia, and Europe won't.”

— Kaja Kallas, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, on X (via Ukrainska Pravda)

Downing Street said UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham spoke to Zelensky and offered his "complete solidarity".

This is not the first time Trump has gone after Zelensky's mandate. He called for new elections in Ukraine last December, but Politico says Saturday's words were his most explicit call yet for a change of leadership. Ukraine has been under martial law since 2022, so elections are suspended. Ukraine says its refinery strikes have disabled 51% of Russia's refining capacity. Zelensky's office declined to comment on Saturday's remarks. @oresundsbaron, whose post is the source of this Signal, shared the video of Trump's comments.