Donald Trump has publicly called for Ukraine to replace Volodymyr Zelenskyy as president after the Ukrainian leader condemned a new U.S. Diesel deal with Russia.
Trump, 78, lashed out at Zelenskyy, 47, on Saturday outside the White House following days of escalating rhetoric between the two leaders. The confrontation centers on a Trump-brokered agreement to suspend U.S. Sanctions on Russian diesel exports until April 7, a move the president announced on Truth Social after discussions with Vladimir Putin.
“I have just concluded a highly successful discussion with President Vladimir Putin, of Russia,” Trump wrote on the platform. He continued: “Diesel prices for Americans and, indeed, the world, will be COMING DOWN, IN RECORD NUMBERS, AND FAST! Lower prices for Americans, especially our Great Farmers, Ranchers, and Truckers, is my greatest priority.”
Zelenskyy had immediately pushed back against the arrangement. In an interview, the Ukrainian president warned that “back room deals” with Putin would hand Russia greater advantage on the battlefield. He described the deal as “absolutely terrible” and “not fair and not honest.”
Trump’s Saturday remarks to reporters turned personal and direct. The president claimed Zelenskyy “wants to make problems for the world” by authorizing Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries.
“He’d better damn well stop,” Trump said. He added: “I suggest they get a new leader who can make a deal because he could have made many deals and for some reason he never does.”
The president elaborated on his warning about energy infrastructure attacks. “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 told press. He repeated his core complaint: “He could have made many deals and for some reason, he never does.”
Zelenskyy responded on social media Saturday with evidence he said proved his point about Russian aggression. “Today, Russia expressed its thanks for the lifting of sanctions on diesel exports by dropping five glide bombs on residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia,” he wrote. He continued: “Last night confirmed once again that in Russia, they take any easing of pressure to mean they can keep fighting, to mean they can keep dropping bombs on cities. Different signals are needed.”
The diesel deal and subsequent clash mark the latest fracture in an already strained relationship. Trump has repeatedly pressed for negotiated settlement to the war, while Zelenskyy has resisted any arrangement that would cede territory or advantage to Moscow. Ukraine has operated under martial law since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, a status that has suspended normal elections and left Zelenskyy in office beyond his original term.
The energy market context has grown more volatile in recent months. Russia and Ukraine have intensified strikes on each other’s energy infrastructure, disrupting supply chains and pushing fuel prices upward across multiple continents. The Strait of Hormuz closure and broader regional conflict involving Iran have compounded these pressures, creating the opening Trump cited for his Putin outreach.
Putin’s envoy Kirill Dmitriev praised Trump’s intervention, describing it as “iconic and historic.”
The sanctions suspension runs through April 7, a window Zelenskyy believes Moscow will exploit to restock military equipment and prolong the war.
Trump is scheduled to continue his public schedule with upcoming campaign events.