President Trump is pressing Ukraine to vote out President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after he slammed America’s diesel import deal with Russia.
Mr. Trump had been ripped by Mr. Zelenskyy, who questioned how the U.S. deal to import millions of tons of Russian diesel could help the peace effort in Ukraine.
Mr. Trump countered on Saturday, telling reporters outside the White House, “I suggest they get a new leader who can make a deal,” adding that Mr. Zelenskyy “could have made many deals, but for some reason he never does. … I think it’s time for Ukraine to get a new president.”
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Mr. Trump also accused the Ukrainian president of trying to cause pain for the American economy by attacking Russian diesel refineries.
“We said you can do whatever you want to Russia, [just] don’t hit the refineries, because that’s a world problem,” Mr. Trump said. “He wants to make problems for the world. He wants to make problems for our farmers, our ranchers, with diesel fuel, because Russia supplies a large portion of the diesel fuel throughout the world.”
The remarks come after Mr. Zelenskyy took a swipe at Mr. Trump’s fortitude.
“Any easing of sanctions against Russia without a clear and lasting de-escalation agreement with Russia is an obvious weakness,” Mr. Zelenskyy said on social media.
“It plays into Russia’s hands — allowing it to kill more, wage war for longer, have even less respect for America, and inflict even greater losses and damage on the world.”
Mr. Zelenskyy was elected president in 2019. His term was set to end in May 2024. However, Ukrainian elections were suspended under martial law amid the war.
During his 2024 campaign, Mr. Trump said he would immediately broker a deal between Russia and Ukraine to end the war.
Senators have denounced the diesel deal, which was struck less than a month after the passage of a law granting Mr. Trump expanded powers to sanction Russia.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut Democrat, said on social media that it “makes us complicit in [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s war against Ukraine.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Alaska Republican, similarly said, “We can discuss Russia’s return to global energy markets once the war is over, but in the meantime, we need to cut off everything fueling it.”
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