United States President Donald Trump has called for the removal of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, blaming him for rising diesel prices. The remarks, made at the White House on Saturday, put further pressure on the Republican Party ahead of the November midterm elections.
The criticism came as tensions between Washington and Kyiv increased after Trump announced a diesel supply deal with Russia. Trump told reporters that it was time for Ukraine to have a new president, saying Zelenskyy had hurt global diesel supplies through strikes on Russian refineries.
Trump blames Zelenskyy for fuel costs and Russia strikes
Trump said Zelenskyy was causing problems for farmers and ranchers who rely on diesel, noting that Russia supplies a large share of the world’s diesel. On Sunday, Zelenskyy responded by vowing to continue striking Russian oil refineries. He wrote on X that Ukraine would stop such strikes if Russia stopped hitting its energy infrastructure.
Zelenskyy also said that strikes on energy facilities could end immediately, but that Russian President Vladimir Putin did not want that to happen. Trump, who had been urging Zelenskyy for weeks to stop attacking Russian energy infrastructure, struck a deal with Putin on Friday to buy diesel from Russia in an effort to lower high fuel prices. The arrangement marked a sharp reversal of years of Washington’s pressure on Moscow over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said every additional $1bn that Russia earns from exports would help fund weapons components, drone upgrades, missile production and the recruitment of mercenaries. He added that Moscow would only be ready to stop when its ability to fight had diminished.
The latest outburst is not the first time Trump has lambasted Zelenskyy. The two men’s strained relationship dates back to Trump’s first term, when he pressed Zelenskyy to investigate his political rival Joe Biden and Biden’s son, Hunter Biden.
Clashes over the war, peace talks and aid in 2025
In February 2025, Trump and Vice President JD Vance clashed with Zelenskyy during a heated Oval Office meeting over rare earth mineral agreements, security assurances and peace negotiations with Russia. Trump warned that Ukraine would either make a deal to end the war or the United States would leave. He accused Zelenskyy of having disrespected the country and overplaying his hand.
Vance and Trump also criticised Zelenskyy for a lack of gratitude and for refusing to compromise, with Trump arguing that Zelenskyy was not ready for peace. The meeting turned into a shouting match, and Zelenskyy left the White House abruptly.
Weeks later, on February 19, 2025, Trump called Zelenskyy a “dictator without elections”. A month after returning to power for a second term, he accused the Ukrainian leader of wanting to keep the “gravy train” of US military support running while Washington tried to end the war. In a post on Truth Social, Trump accused Zelenskyy of taking US money and drawing the country into an endless conflict.
Trump repeated the comments at an investment summit in Miami, where he said Zelenskyy had done a terrible job and that millions of people had died unnecessarily. He also said Zelenskyy should move fast or would have no country left. Trump had earlier been critical of financial and military support from Joe Biden’s administration, and had vowed to end the war within 24 hours of taking office, though he later said he had been being “sarcastic”.
In April 2025, Trump criticised Zelenskyy again and suggested Kyiv had started the war against Russia. He said the Ukrainian leader was “always looking to purchase” US missiles. Later that month, Trump criticised Zelenskyy for “very harmful” statements after he rejected the idea of ceding occupied Crimea to Russia as part of a possible peace deal.
Trump said in a social media post that Zelenskyy’s remarks were stoking tension, and he noted that Russia had annexed Crimea in 2014 “without a shot being fired”. Despite the friction, the two leaders held a private meeting at the Vatican on April 26, 2025, during the funeral of Pope Francis.
Earlier criticism from the 2024 campaign and 2019 call
On the 2024 US presidential campaign trail, Trump repeatedly said Zelenskyy was not trying hard enough to end Russia’s war on Ukraine. At an election rally in North Carolina in September, he said even a “worst deal”, or giving up a small amount of territory, would be better than ongoing death and destruction.
The roots of the dispute go back to July 2019, during Trump’s first term. According to a five-page memo summarising the July 25 call, Trump repeatedly urged Zelenskyy to work with Rudy Giuliani and the US attorney general to investigate Biden. At the time, the administration was withholding nearly $400m in congressionally approved security assistance for Ukraine, which prompted speculation that Trump was using the money as leverage.
Zelenskyy expressed willingness to look into new cases and cooperate with US investigations. He and Ukrainian officials later maintained that they did not feel directly threatened or pressured during the conversation itself.
