President Donald Trump on Saturday called for Ukraine to install a new president, sharpening a public feud with Volodymyr Zelenskyy over Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil infrastructure and a White House-backed plan to import large volumes of Russian diesel.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said Zelenskyy had ignored his warnings to stop hitting refineries and argued that those attacks were feeding the diesel price spike that has become a domestic political headache ahead of November’s midterm elections. “I think it’s time for Ukraine to get a new president,” he said, adding that Kyiv should find a leader “who can make a deal.”
Diesel deal and Treasury license
The clash follows Trump’s Friday announcement that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed on a phased release of Russian diesel for global markets, including more than 300,000 tons immediately and millions of tons in subsequent tranches. The U.S. Treasury Department issued a temporary general license authorizing Russian-origin diesel sales through April 7, 2027, a move Kyiv cast as a financial lifeline for Moscow’s war machine.
Zelenskyy said the arrangement caught Ukraine off guard while negotiators were still meeting U.S. and European officials in Miami. In a social media post, he warned that Russia would repay the concession with “further terror,” pointing to a deadly glide-bomb attack on residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia the same day Trump spoke.
What Trump wants from Kyiv
Trump’s Saturday remarks reprised a demand he has made privately for weeks: halt strikes on Russian energy sites that he links directly to U.S. pump prices. He told reporters he had told Zelenskyy there were “plenty of targets” in the war but that refineries should be off limits. “He better damn well stop,” Trump said.
Republican Representative Don Bacon, among others in Congress, criticized the diesel framework and urged tighter enforcement of sanctions legislation rather than relief for Moscow. Ukrainian officials, meanwhile, continue to press Washington to tie any economic openings to verifiable Russian steps toward ending the invasion.
What happens next
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told state media that Moscow was lifting export restrictions ahead of schedule and could begin U.S.-bound shipments in October. Ukrainian diplomats in Washington and allied capitals are lobbying to keep the diesel license narrow and time-limited.
For Zelenskyy, the combination of a sanctions carve-out and a public call for his replacement underscores how energy politics and election-year fuel costs are now shaping alliance management as much as battlefield outcomes. Trump’s energy-ceasefire declaration on Sunday added another layer of confusion, with Kyiv saying it learned of that pledge from social media while Russia had yet to confirm any pause.