Trump Turns Against Zelenskyy: “Ukraine Needs a New Leader”

US President Donald Trump, who blamed Zelenskyy for rising oil prices, said Ukraine needs a new leader.

“I suggest they choose a new leader who can make a deal. Because he could have made many deals, but for some reason, he isn’t doing any of them,” Trump said before departing the White House for Tennessee.

Trump had previously called on the Ukrainian leader to halt attacks on oil refineries and other critical infrastructure facilities in Russia, arguing that these strikes were worsening disruptions to global fuel supplies.

“He wants to cause problems for the world. He wants to cause problems for our farmers and people in the livestock industry when it comes to diesel fuel. We told him, ‘You can do whatever you want, but don’t target diesel fuel, because there’s a big problem.’ And what did he do? He went and targeted diesel fuel.”

Trump’s call for “a new leader to replace Zelenskyy” came shortly after Zelenskyy strongly criticized the US move to import diesel fuel from Russia in an effort to bring down fuel prices.

Trump said that following his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russia would soon supply more than 300,000 tonnes of diesel fuel to the US and global markets, with another 500,000 tonnes scheduled for delivery in November.

Zelenskyy described the deal as a “gift” to Putin, arguing that it would bring no benefit to peace or the international community.

“Allowing Russia to sell its petroleum products means investing in a war that must be brought to an end.”

Russia has welcomed both the agreement with the US and Trump’s remarks about Zelenskyy. Kirill Dmitriev, President Vladimir Putin’s chief negotiator on economic affairs, described the statements as “historic and symbolic.”

Source: Euronews