US President Donald Trump called on Saturday for Ukraine to replace Volodymyr Zelenskiy, a day after announcing a diesel supply deal with Russia. Zelenskiy sharply criticised the deal after a Russian strike on Zaporizhzhia. Trump also criticised Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil infrastructure.
US President Donald Trump called for Ukraine to replace its leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Saturday. He also railed against Ukraine's attacks on Russian oil infrastructure, a day after announcing a diesel supply deal with Russia that drew a sharp rebuke from Zelenskiy.
According to Reuters, Trump told reporters at the White House: "I think it’s time for Ukraine to get a new president." He said Zelenskiy could have made many deals but for some reason never does.
Diesel deal draws Zelenskiy's rebuke
Zelenskiy blasted Trump's deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to lift sanctions on Russian diesel, in some of his sharpest criticism yet of the White House. The Russian government said on Saturday it had partially lifted a ban on diesel exports with immediate effect.
The decision comes as soaring energy prices have become a political liability for Trump's Republican Party ahead of next month's midterm elections. The sanctions were imposed about a year ago to deprive Russia of funding for its war in Ukraine, and lifting them coincides with persistently high fuel prices that followed the US conflict with Iran.
Kyiv had instead urged Washington to increase pressure on Moscow to force it into serious negotiations to end the 4-1/2-year war.
Strike on Zaporizhzhia follows the announcement
Zelenskiy said a Russian strike on Zaporizhzhia on Saturday killed 20 people, including three children. He said Russia had thanked Washington for lifting the sanctions by dropping five glide bombs on residential buildings.
It was the third mass-casualty attack on Ukraine this week. Nearly 80 civilians died in Russian strikes on Wednesday and Thursday, including at least 30 in Kramatorsk and 22 in Pryluky.
Putin says immediate resumption of peace talks is unlikely
Trump has criticised Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries, which he says have driven up global prices. Kyiv has said it wants a total halt on all energy strikes by both sides as Moscow pummels Ukraine's power grid.
The latest strikes followed Friday talks in Miami between Ukrainian and European officials and US negotiators. Trump announced the diesel deal while those negotiations were under way, which Zelenskiy said caught Kyiv by surprise.
Putin said after a call with Trump on Friday that an immediate resumption of peace talks was unlikely, citing Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow. Russian state news agency TASS reported that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner may visit Moscow within the next two weeks.
Source: Reuters via Investing.com
Trading involves risk.
Risk Disclaimer
