Trump says Ukraine needs a new president after Zelensky criticises diesel deal

US President Donald Trump said Ukraine needs a new president as he responded to Volodymyr Zelensky’s criticism of a deal with Russia on diesel exports.

Speaking to reporters outside the White House on Saturday, Trump said Zelensky “wants to make problems for the world” by allowing attacks on Russian oil refineries. He also said Zelensky should stop and that Ukraine needed a new leader who could make a deal.

The Russian diesel agreement

Trump confirmed on Friday that the United States and Moscow had agreed to suspend sanctions on Russian diesel exports until 7 April. Under the arrangement, Russia would initially release 300,000 tonnes of diesel to the American and global markets, followed by 500,000 tonnes in November and later additional shipments totalling up to 4.8m tonnes.

Zelensky said the agreement would give Moscow new funds to obtain military equipment and continue the war. After deadly new strikes on Zaporizhzhia, he also said Russia interpreted the deal as permission to keep fighting and bombing Ukrainian cities.

Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev described Trump’s intervention as “iconic and historic” and said Ukraine needed leadership focused on peace.

Allies respond to Kyiv

Zelensky spoke with several allies on Saturday and called for decisions to protect lives in Ukraine and European security. A Downing Street spokesperson said UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham had offered him complete solidarity.

The British side said the two leaders agreed that Russia should immediately stop attacks on energy infrastructure and shipping in the Black Sea. Such a move, the spokesperson said, would increase energy and food supplies on global markets.

EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas said easing sanctions would provide Moscow with additional revenues to wage war. She said European foreign ministers planned to approve the bloc’s largest package of sanctions against Russia since the full-scale invasion on Monday.

Fuel pressure and martial law

The agreement is the latest effort by Trump to reduce US fuel prices amid constrained global supplies linked to the war against Iran and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The average US diesel price is $6.28 a gallon, up from $5.94 last month and $3.68 a year ago, according to AAA.

Trump had already called for new elections in Ukraine in December. Elections have been suspended since martial law was imposed after the full-scale war began in 2022.

Russia and Ukraine have recently intensified strikes on each other’s energy infrastructure and transport facilities. The International Energy Agency estimates that Russian diesel production fell by about 30% after Ukrainian drone attacks on oil refineries.