Donald Trump has reportedly called on Ukraine to choose a new leader after reaching an oil agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Speaking to reporters outside the White House on Saturday, Trump said: “I suggest they get a new leader who can make a deal.”
He added that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “could have made many deals,” but claimed that “for some reason, he never does.”
The remarks followed a Ukrainian strike on a major Russian oil facility, launched just hours after Trump reportedly surprised Kyiv by agreeing to ease sanctions on Russian crude, only weeks before Americans vote in the midterm elections.
Trump had earlier unveiled an agreement with Putin that would allow nearly two million tons of Russian oil to enter the United States, as his administration attempts 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.
The president also blamed what he described as “incompetence” on Zelensky’s part for the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
“That’s a war that should have never started,” Trump said. “And I think it’s time for Ukraine to get a new president.”
Donald Trump has reportedly urged Ukraine to choose a new leader after signing an oil agreement with Vladimir Putin
The comments came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky struck a major oil target shortly after Trump agreed to lift sanctions on Russian oil
Trump is facing growing criticism from voters over his war with Iran, which has contributed to a sharp increase in diesel prices—from $3.68 per gallon a year ago to $6.28 on Friday.
According to reports, Trump chose to finalize the arrangement with the Russian leader after Zelensky rejected repeated requests to stop attacks against oil facilities.
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 over the previous six months.
Ukraine’s campaign against Russia’s energy sector has created serious difficulties for Putin, although Russia still retains enough surplus diesel to export.
Soon after Trump and Putin spoke, the Kremlin launched another attack on sleeping civilians in Zaporizhzhia. Seven people were killed, including at least three girls, while 10 others were injured and 16 were reported missing.
The latest casualties brought the number of civilians killed by Russia over three days to nearly 90.
The diesel agreement between Trump and Putin shocked officials in Kyiv, with Zelensky accusing the US president of showing weakness by yielding to Russian demands.
Trump, however, accused Zelensky of disregarding six appeals to suspend attacks on Russian refineries—strikes that he said were driving up fuel costs, particularly diesel prices in the United States ahead of the midterm vote, according to Axios.
Trump announced an agreement with Putin allowing nearly two million tons of Russian oil into the US as he seeks to ease pressure from rising fuel prices
Adding to the cordial tone surrounding the agreement, Yury Ushakov, a foreign affairs adviser to Putin, said the hour-and-a-half conversation with Trump was so friendly that “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.’