Trump Says Ukraine Should Get ‘a New President,’ Slams Zelensky Over Russian Refinery Strikes

President Donald Trump said Saturday that Ukraine should replace President Volodymyr Zelensky, sharply escalating his criticism of Kyiv a day after announcing an energy arrangement with Moscow that the Ukrainian leader had publicly condemned.

Speaking to reporters, Trump said it was “time for Ukraine to get a new president,” faulting Zelensky for refusing to stop Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries. “He better damn well stop,” Trump said of the strikes, adding that he had suggested Ukraine get “a new leader who can make a deal.”

“He could have made many deals and for some reason, he never does,” Trump said. He also accused Zelensky of wanting “to make problems for the world” by hitting Russian refineries, saying he had told the Ukrainian leader, “you can do whatever you want to Russia, don’t hit the refineries,” because the strikes had become “a world problem.”

Deal with Putin announced Friday

The clash follows Trump’s announcement on Friday, after a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, that Moscow would supply diesel fuel to the United States and global markets. Trump said on his Truth Social platform that Russia would “immediately” deliver 300,000 tonnes of diesel, followed by 500,000 tonnes in November and one million tonnes afterward, with another 3 million tonnes “within a short period of time.” The U.S. Treasury has issued a temporary license covering the imports.

Trump said the arrangement would bring diesel prices down, telling supporters: “Lower prices for Americans, especially our Great Farmers, Ranchers, and Truckers, is my Greatest Priority.” According to AAA figures cited in reporting, diesel averaged $6.28 a gallon across the United States on Friday, below a record $6.53 set at the end of September.

Zelensky pushes back

Zelensky reacted angrily to the arrangement, telling Axios that the decision was “not fair and not honest” and describing it as a “birthday gift to Putin.” He warned that Moscow would “repay” the diesel benefit with further terror, and wrote on X that Russia had “expressed its thanks for the lifting of sanctions on diesel exports by dropping five glide bombs on residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia.”

The Ukrainian leader has defended the refinery campaign as retaliation, saying: “Ukraine will not set Russian oil refineries on fire if Russia does not destroy our energy infrastructure.” A U.S. official told Axios that Zelensky was “misreading the room” and that continuing to hit refineries was “eroding the good will that he has built with Trump over the last six months.”

The dispute has rattled European allies. Germany, which has said it will keep its Russia sanctions in place even as Washington temporarily lifts fuel restrictions, is among the European governments watching the rupture between the two leaders. The British government has likewise said it will “maintain pressure on Russia” through sanctions.

Reporting based on coverage by The Sun and Le Monde.