Trump Says Ukraine Should Get a New Leader as He Spars With Zelensky Over Russian Diesel Deal

President Donald Trump said Saturday that Ukraine should “get a new leader,” sharply criticizing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a public split over a new U.S.-Russia diesel deal that Kyiv says will only help fund Moscow’s war.

“You know what I suggest? I suggest they get a new leader who can make a deal because he could have made many deals and for some reason, he never does,” Trump told reporters at the White House. Speaking as he departed for a rally in Tennessee, he also said he believed it was “time for Ukraine to get a new president.”

The criticism centered on Ukraine’s continued drone strikes against Russian oil refineries. Trump said he had repeatedly told Zelensky not to target them: “do what you want, don’t hit refineries,” he said, adding, “He’d better damn well stop.” According to a U.S. official, Trump had been fuming at Zelensky over the refinery campaign before he struck the diesel deal, and the United States had repeatedly asked Kyiv to halt the attacks, to no avail.

A deal meant to ease fuel costs

The fight follows the diesel supply deal announced Friday, in which Trump said Putin agreed in a phone call to “immediately supply” more than 300,000 metric tons of diesel to global markets, with another 500,000 tons promised in November. Together, the amounts equal about 6 million barrels of diesel, which would cover roughly a day and a half of U.S. demand, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The White House is pushing to bring down fuel costs ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections, with average U.S. diesel prices topping $6 a gallon, according to the New York Post.

Zelensky, meanwhile, called the move a “weak decision of strong partners” and an “investment in a war that must be ended, not prolonged.” In a post on X, he linked the easing of sanctions to a Russian air attack on Zaporizhzhia on Saturday, writing that Russia had shown its thanks for the sanctions relief “by dropping five glide bombs on residential buildings.” Zelensky said the strike killed 23 people, including four children, according to CNN.

Doubts over whether the diesel will flow

Energy analysts cast doubt on how much the agreement would move fuel markets. Dan Pickering, founder and chief investment officer at Pickering Energy Partners, estimated the deal would increase supply by “perhaps a 5%-6%” between now and year end, calling it “helpful but not a needle mover for global diesel markets.” Former U.S. officials questioned whether Putin could even deliver the promised volumes, noting that Russia banned diesel exports in early July after Ukrainian strikes on its refineries, removing roughly 800,000 barrels per day from the global market. At the close of trading Friday, diesel futures were down about 4%.

The deal drew criticism from some Republicans as well. Former Vice President Mike Pence called the agreement “a betrayal of the legacy and leadership” of Ukraine aid advocates and said “America should not be throwing a lifeline to Putin’s war machine,” according to CNN. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said he was concerned that lifting sanctions on Russian oil “will only fund the Kremlin’s war machine.”

Trump also accused Zelensky of having passed up multiple chances to end the war Russia started, and said Ukraine should hold elections; Ukrainian law prohibits holding elections during wartime.

Reporting based on coverage by CNN and the New York Post.