Donald Trump has said Volodymyr Zelensky should step down as Ukrainian president and the country should have a new leader. The US President suggested his Ukrainian counterpart was no longer fit for the job following a series of airstrikes on Russian oil refineries, which have increased the price of fuel around the world.
Mr Trump was asked by reporters outside the White House about Russian strikes against Ukraine and a deal he struck with Russia about supplying diesel. He responded: "I suggest they get a new leader who can make a deal. I think it's time for Ukraine to get a new president... We said, 'You could do whatever you want to Russia, don't hit the refineries, because that's a world problem that's caused'.
Trump accuses Zelensky of harming global fuel supplies
"And [Volodymyr Zelensky] 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.
"And we told them, 'Do whatever you want, but don't hit the diesel fuel, because this is a big problem, a big shortage'. And what does he do? He goes and hits the diesel fuel... He better damn well stop."
Deal to buy Russian diesel announced
Mr Trump previously announced the deal to buy more than one million tonnes of diesel from Russia on Friday, as rising fuel prices heaped political pressure on him ahead of next month's mid-term elections in the US. He posted on social media saying he struck the deal with Vladimir Putin in a phone call.
The call was expected to discuss a suspected case of plague in Russia, but instead Mr Trump said that Moscow would supply over 300,000 tonnes of diesel, an additional 500,000 tonnes in November, and one million tonnes "immediately thereafter". Russia will deliver an additional three million tonnes "within a short period of time" after that, he wrote.
Zelensky criticises the move
The announcement came after Mr Trump signed a sweeping Russia sanctions law just last month aimed at clamping down on the oil and gas revenues that fuel Russia's war against Ukraine. Mr Zelensky criticised the move, saying it "plays into Russia's hands" and would prolong the war.
