US President Donald Trump has said he believes “it’s time for Ukraine to get a new president”, responding to criticism from Volodymyr Zelensky of a US deal to release millions of tonnes of Russian diesel into the American market. Zelensky has warned that the arrangement would give Moscow money to keep fighting its war in Ukraine.
Speaking to reporters as he left the White House on Saturday, Trump said the Ukrainian president “wants to make problems for the world” by continuing to authorise attacks on Russian refineries. “He’d better damn well stop,” Trump said, adding that Ukraine should “get a new leader who can make a deal.”
Zelensky and Kallas criticise the sanctions suspension
Trump confirmed on Friday that an agreement had been reached with Moscow to suspend sanctions on Russian diesel exports until 7 April. Zelensky said the move would let Moscow raise new funds for military equipment, and accused it of reading the deal as permission to keep “dropping bombs on cities” after deadly strikes on Zaporizhzhia.
On Saturday, the EU’s foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas said suspending sanctions “provides Moscow with more revenues to wage war”. She added: “This is not the time to ease pressure on Russia, and Europe won’t.” She said European foreign ministers intended to approve the biggest set of sanctions on Russia since the full-scale invasion began, on Monday.
Strikes on energy and transport sites intensify
Russia and Ukraine have recently stepped up strikes on energy-generating and transport facilities, as well as major logistics hubs. Trump added: “We said, ‘you can do whatever you want to Russia, don’t hit the refineries’, because that’s a world problem that’s caused.”
He went on: “He could have made many deals and for some reason, he never does.”
Diesel deal tied to Trump’s fuel price aims
The agreement is the latest effort by Trump to lower fuel prices in the US before the midterm elections, after months spent dealing with the political fallout of the Iran war. That conflict, which began in February, sent petrol and especially diesel prices soaring, souring public opinion as Americans felt higher pump prices and wider inflation.
