Trump wants Zelenskyy replaced after Ukraine leader criticizes Russia diesel deal
"He better damn well stop!" President Donald Trump delivers a blunt warning to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over strikes on Russian oil refineries, saying he specifically told him not to target facilities that supply diesel fuel to the global market. Trump argues the attacks risk creating worldwide fuel shortages that could hurt American farmers and ranchers. Stay up to date with the latest headlines and breaking news — download the FOX News app: https://t.co/ISpW9Fc0R3
— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 10, 2026
WASHINGTON, DC: After Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized the diesel deal between the US and Russia, President Donald Trump on Saturday, October 10, called for his replacement, saying he should stop.
Trump on Friday announced what he described as "a highly successful discussion" with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The deal appears to be part of the administration’s effort to contain soaring fuel rates in the United States, which have affected the cost of living.
Trump says it's time for a new Ukrainian leader
Zelenskyy blasted Trump’s Friday deal allowing Russia to supply the US and global market with diesel, arguing that the move would give the Kremlin more money to fund its war in Ukraine and undermine peace efforts.
“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,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Saturday as he was on his way to Tennessee.
Trump explicitly expressed discontent over Zelenskyy’s criticism of the diesel deal between the US and Russia, which was announced amid the soaring rates of fuel ahead of midterms.
Trump says Zelenskyy 'chooses not to' end war
Trump also accused the Ukrainian president of not settling the war despite getting the opportunity to fix things many times.
Trump further said that if the 2020 elections were not rigged and he was the president, he wouldn’t have let the war begin in the first place.
President Trump on Ukraine war: "Zelensky could've settled it many times, but he chose not to." https://t.co/mTn4uboLZY
— CSPAN (@cspan) October 10, 2026
“Zelenskyy could have settled this war many times, many, many times, and he chooses not to. Very difficult. It’s a war that should have never been started. If I were present, if the election weren’t rigged, I would have been president and that war would have never started,” Trump said.
Additionally, Trump said the US had told Zelenskyy not to target Russian refineries because it could worsen a global diesel shortage and hurt American farmers and ranchers.
However, Trump said Zelensky continued to attack the refineries, creating more problems for the world.
Zelenskyy calls the diesel deal a gift to Russia
“Gifts to Putin will not bring peace or any benefit to the civilized world,” Zelenskyy wrote on X.
Peace never comes through weakness. Today, representatives of the U.S. Congress were in Kyiv – a bipartisan delegation – and I am grateful to them for visiting Ukraine at such a difficult time. They asked: what is needed to end the war? The answer must be strong. There must be sanctions under the Lindsey Graham bill, there must be support for Ukraine in protecting lives, and there must be pressure on Russia for its war. And today, there was a conversation between the leaders of America and Russia. A conversation that leads to something different. Recently, there was a European decision to lift sanctions on Russian oligarchs. Since then, Russian strikes and the torment of people have only increased. This past week alone, there was a brutal Russian missile strike on a residential building in Pryluky, aerial bombs were dropped on Kramatorsk – on ordinary city buses – and there have been constant attacks on Kyiv’s energy infrastructure and on the life-sustaining infrastructure in Dnipro, Kharkiv, Odesa, and our other cities. Dozens of people have been killed and hundreds wounded. The Russians are compensating for their inability to achieve their objectives on the battlefield with this kind of terror. This year, Russia is weaker on the battlefield than at any other point in the war. That is why Putin is relying on terror. That is why he is relying on attempts to strike backroom deals to secure some form of pressure relief for Russia, in order to buy more time and more opportunities for war. Any easing of sanctions against Russia without a clear and lasting de-escalation agreement with Russia is an obvious weakness. 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. Ukraine is ready to take symmetrical de-escalatory steps, and the American team knows our position. Our strikes on Russian oil refineries and other oil facilities are a response to Russia’s years-long campaign of terror against Ukraine’s energy sector. Ukraine will not set Russian oil refineries on fire if Russia does not destroy our energy infrastructure. This is the kind of agreement we are proposing to America, and we believe the United States has enough power to achieve such a compromise. Gifts to Putin will not bring peace or any benefit to the civilized world. Russia will “repay” the diesel with further terror and perfidy. Allowing Russia to sell petroleum products is an investment in a war that must be ended, not prolonged. What is needed is real de-escalation with Russia on a reciprocal basis. We count on America’s fair support for our defense of life, for our defense of people in Ukraine – and on the United States having a correspondingly strong conversation with Russia. A strong one, not a weak one.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 9, 2026
“Russia will ‘repay’ the diesel with further terror and perfidy. Allowing Russia to sell petroleum products is an investment in a war that must be ended, not prolonged,” he added.
Following a phone call with Putin, Trump announced that Russia would “immediately” supply 300,000 tons of diesel across the globe to mitigate skyrocketing fuel prices tied to both the Ukraine war and the US’s war in Iran.
