US President Donald Trump said Ukraine needs a new president and blamed Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy for high US diesel prices.
US President Donald Trump said it was time for Ukraine to get a new president, claiming his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy has not tried sufficiently to bring an end to Russia's invasion.
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“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 before departing for Tennessee on Saturday.
The statement was welcomed by Russian President Vladimir Putin's top economic negotiator, who called Trump's remarks as "iconic and historic".
"President Trump joins the many who believe that Ukraine needs leadership actually focused on peace, not Zelensky's warmongering," Kirill Dmitriev, the Kremlin's special envoy on economic cooperation, said in a post on X.
Andrii Sybiha, Ukraine's foreign minister, said Zelenskyy "has the support of the Ukrainian people, and they have the right to decide."
"Statements from abroad only confirm that he is doing his job well. He deserves support," he added in a social media post on Saturday.
Trump's statement comes after Zelenskyy denounced Washington's deal with Moscow to buy Russian diesel in an attempt to address high fuel prices ahead of the US midterm elections.
European officials expressed dismay over the deal, warning it would help finance Russia's war efforts.
"Russia will immediately supply over 300,000 tons of Diesel Fuel to the American and Global Marketplace, another 500,000 tons during the month of November," Trump said following talks with Putin.
Zelenskyy called the move a "gift to Putin" that would "not bring peace or any benefit to the civilised world".
"Allowing Russia to sell petroleum products is an investment in a war that must be ended, not prolonged. What is needed is real de-escalation with Russia on a reciprocal basis," he added.
Diesel prices in the US have surged since the US and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran on February 28. Both the wars in Iran and Ukraine have both contributed to a global energy crisis, yet Trump places the blame for soaring US diesel prices solely on Zelenskyy.
He has previously urged the Ukrainian leader to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries and other critical infrastructure, saying the attacks are causing the global shortage.
“He (Zelenskyy) wants to make problems for the world. He wants to make problems for our farmers, our ranchers, with diesel fuel,” Trump said on Saturday.
"And we told him, 'do whatever you want, but don't hit the diesel fuel, because there's a big problem.' And what does he do? He goes and hits the diesel fuel," he added.
Trump's approval rating has significantly dropped over the course of his second term. According to an Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research poll conducted last month, 71% of American adults disapprove of how Trump is handling Iran.
Europe backs Kyiv
It came as the EU's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, on Saturday said suspending sanctions on Russian diesel would only provide Moscow with more revenues to fuel its war.
"This is not the time to ease pressure on Russia, and Europe won’t," she wrote on X.
"On Monday, EU Foreign Ministers intend to approve the biggest set of sanctions listings targeting Russia’s war machine since the start of the war," she added.
Zelenskyy also touted a series of conversations with European allies on Saturday, including UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Zelenskyy said he had held a "very good and timely conversation" with Burnham as he thanked him for his continued support.
According to Downing Street, Burnham used the opportunity to reiterate his "complete solidarity" with Ukraine and pledged to continue to strengthen UK sanctions on Russia.
Zelenskyy said he had also spoken with Macron about the "challenges posed by the easing of sanctions on oil products" and said Kyiv and Paris were preparing further meetings.