Trump says Ukraine needs new president after Zelenskyy questions US move to buy Russian diesel
The differences between the United States (US) and Ukraine have clearly emerged over the former’s recent deal with Russia amid an oil crisis in the country, which the latter has described an “investment” in its war against Moscow. However, US President Donald Trump has hit out at his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy and called for Kyiv to elect a new president.
Trump, who sealed the deal with the Russians to buy diesel amid soaring fuel rates ahead of the midterm elections, said Zelenskyy has failed to do enough to end the conflict with Russia that began February 2022 and also targeted him for attacking Moscow’s energy infrastructure despite repeated requests to stop the strikes.
“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 said. “He wants to make problems for the world… He wants to make problems for our farmers, our ranchers, with diesel fuel.”
Zelenskyy has “lost 30 per cent of your country and you’ve had over a million people go between the two of them, over 2 million people killed. That’s a war that should have never started. And I think it’s time for Ukraine to get a new president,” Trump added.
Trump has been facing the heat over soaring fuel rates ahead of midterm elections. But on Friday, he sealed a deal with Russia under which he said Moscow will immediately supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel, followed by an additional 500,000 tons in November and 1 million tons “immediately thereafter”. This was criticised by Zelenskyy, who later called it an investment in war.
British PM supports Zelenskyy; Russia backs Trump
Trump’s remarks weren’t welcomed by Ukraine’s Finance Minister Andriy Sybiga, though, who said that Zelenskyy deserve all the support and claimed he still has the backing of people in the country, while reiterating that he is doing a good job.
“He has the support of the Ukrainian people, and they have the right to decide,” he said on X. “Statements from abroad only confirm that he is doing his job well. He deserves support.”
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham also extended his solidarity for Zelenskyy during a telephonic conversation with the Ukrainian leader. In a statement, his office said Burnham told Zelenskyy that “the past 24 hours had been difficult for Ukraine and reiterated his complete solidarity”.
Meanwhile, the Russians welcomed Trump’s remarks and described them as “iconic and historic”.
“President Trump joins the many who believe that Ukraine needs leadership actually focused on peace, not Zelensky’s warmongering… Iconic and historic,” Kirill Dmitriev, the Kremlin’s special envoy on economic cooperation, said in a post on X.
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