Independence Square in central Kyiv, Ukraine

Photo: Sasha India / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Trump Zelensky Rift: Trump Says Ukraine Needs New President

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The Trump Zelensky rift widened on Saturday, Oct. 10, when President Donald Trump told reporters outside the White House that “it’s time for Ukraine to get a new president.” The remark came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned a U.S. deal with Moscow that suspends sanctions on Russian diesel exports.

Trump’s comments landed one day after U.S., Ukrainian and European negotiators met in Miami and hours after Russian strikes killed at least 20 people in Zaporizhzhia, according to Ukraine’s state emergency service. The deal itself is explained in our report on the Russian diesel deal and sanctions relief.

The Trump Zelensky dispute over refinery strikes

Trump said Zelensky “wants to make problems for the world” by continuing to approve drone attacks on Russian oil refineries, which have cut into global fuel supplies. “He’d better damn well stop,” Trump said, according to the BBC, before suggesting Ukraine should “get a new leader who can make a deal.”

“We said, ‘you can do whatever you want to Russia, don’t hit the refineries,’ because that’s a world problem that’s caused,” Trump said. “He could have made many deals and for some reason, he never does.” Trump also told reporters that “President Putin would like to see a settlement, strongly,” RTÉ reported.

Ukraine has been under martial law since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, which means national elections are suspended. Trump had already called for new Ukrainian elections last December. Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev praised Saturday’s remarks as “iconic and historic” and said Ukraine “needs leadership actually focused on peace.”

Zelensky’s case against the diesel deal

The deal suspends U.S. sanctions on Russian diesel exports until April 7. Trump wrote on Truth Social that Russia would first release 300,000 tonnes of diesel to “the American and global marketplace,” followed by 500,000 tonnes in November, another million tonnes and then 3 million more “within a short period of time,” depending on “the condition of their diesel refineries.”

Zelensky called the arrangement a gift to Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Every additional billion dollars Russia manages to earn from exports will be spent precisely on this: finding and importing critical components, equipment for weapons production, upgrading Shahed drones, manufacturing missiles, and recruiting additional mercenaries for the front,” he wrote on Telegram after missiles struck Kyiv on Oct. 10, the Kyiv Independent reported. He said that instead of facing new sanctions, Russia had been sent “entirely different signals,” ones “suggesting that further attacks are somehow permissible.”

The economic pressure behind the deal is real. AAA puts the average U.S. diesel price at $6.28 a gallon, up from $5.94 last month and $3.68 a year ago, the BBC reported, as the war with Iran has choked supply through the Strait of Hormuz. The International Energy Agency estimates Russian diesel output has fallen about 30% after Ukrainian drone strikes on refineries.

Miami peace talks end early

The Institute for the Study of War reported that Trump’s Oct. 9 diesel announcement disrupted the Miami meeting, where Ukraine’s delegation sat down with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, the E3 (France, Germany and the United Kingdom), the European Commission and NATO. Citing Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and the Financial Times, the think tank said a planned second day was dropped and that the announcement “blindsided” the Ukrainian team. Presidential communications adviser Dmytro Lytvyn confirmed the delegation was heading home. Background on the talks is in our story on the Ukraine peace talks in Miami.

Witkoff called the discussions “constructive,” saying they covered energy resilience, grain exports, security guarantees and reconstruction. The Kremlin said Putin received Trump’s de-escalation ideas “with understanding” during a Friday call, but Reuters reported that Putin also said an immediate return to peace talks was unlikely, citing Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned on Thursday that the war had reached a “stalemate,” adding: “The other way that stalemates end is through escalation.”

Europe pushes back

European leaders lined up behind Kyiv. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said suspending sanctions “provides Moscow with more revenues to wage war,” adding: “This is not the time to ease pressure on Russia, and Europe won’t.” She said EU foreign ministers plan to approve their largest package of Russia sanctions since the full-scale invasion on Monday, Oct. 12. A Downing Street spokesperson said Prime Minister Andy Burnham offered Zelensky his “complete solidarity,” and that the two agreed Russia should accept “an immediate energy ceasefire” and stop attacking Black Sea shipping. For the human cost behind the debate, see our coverage of the Zaporizhzhia glide bomb attack.

Sources