President Trump said it is time for Ukraine to get a new president after Zelenskyy criticized a U.S. deal easing Russian diesel exports, tying the dispute to fuel prices and stalled peace.
Speaking to reporters Saturday on the White House South Lawn before departing for a midterm campaign rally in Clarksville, Tenn., President Donald Trump said Ukraine should replace its leader and halt strikes on Russian oil refineries.
Fox News reported the remarks followed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s criticism of a new American arrangement with Moscow that temporarily eases sanctions on Russian diesel exports. Trump confirmed that agreement Friday.
Trump framed the refinery attacks as a global energy problem and pressed for a Ukrainian leader willing to close a deal to end the war that began with Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Trump accused Zelenskyy of worsening global fuel problems by authorizing strikes on Russian refineries and told him to stop.
Trump told reporters:
"It's time for Ukraine to get a new president."
He added a direct warning on the energy targets:
"He'd better d*** well stop."
Trump said the U.S. position had been clear about the scope of Ukrainian operations.
"We said, 'You can do whatever you want to Russia. Don't hit the refineries' because that's a world problem that's caused."
The reported U.S.-Russia arrangement suspends restrictions on Russian diesel exports until April 7 and would allow Russia to release millions of tons of diesel into U.S. and global markets. Trump has sought ways to lower fuel prices amid rising U.S. energy costs tied to conflict with Iran.
Zelenskyy criticized the temporary easing of sanctions and warned it could give Russia additional money to buy weapons and continue the war against Ukraine. Breitbart carried Zelenskyy’s further warning that every additional billion dollars Russia earns from exports would go to sourcing components and equipment to manufacture weapons, saying Russia’s choice is war.
That outlet also reported Trump secured a deal for Russia to supply hundreds of thousands of tonnes of diesel to global markets, and that Ukrainian negotiators left Miami peace talks earlier than expected amid disagreements over territory such as Donbas.
A caption in the primary coverage referenced flames and smoke after a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack on a Moscow oil refinery in southeast Moscow on Sept. 20, 2026.
Trump argued Ukraine should avoid targeting refineries and criticized Zelenskyy for failing to reach an agreement to end the war.
He said Zelenskyy “could have made many deals and, for some reason, he never does.”
Just The News reported Trump’s call for Ukraine to elect a new president and his blame on Zelenskyy for failing to negotiate an end to the war. Trump said he suggests they get a new leader who can make a deal, repeating that for some reason he never does, and stated the conflict is a war that should have never started. He claimed it would not have occurred if he had been president and asserted Ukraine has lost 30% of its territory with more than 2 million people killed.
That account also quoted Trump at the White House saying it is time for Ukraine to get a new president and urging a leader able to finish a deal.
Trump’s public pressure pairs American interest in lower fuel costs with a demand that Kyiv install leadership ready to negotiate rather than prolong a grinding war that has hammered energy markets and left Ukraine absorbing heavy territorial and human losses.
Leaders who keep refusing workable deals while energy prices climb leave their people and American drivers paying the bill.
