US President Donald Trump has called on Ukraine to elect a new president, accusing Volodymyr Zelenskyy of failing to negotiate an end to the war with Russia and contributing to rising diesel prices in the United States.
Trump made the comments on Saturday, a day after announcing an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin for diesel supplies aimed at easing rising fuel costs ahead of the November midterm elections.
According to the Associated Press, Trump accused Zelenskyy of rejecting opportunities to reach a peace deal and criticised Ukraine’s continued attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, which he claimed were affecting American farmers and ranchers through higher fuel prices.
He argued that the war, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, could have been avoided if he had been president at the time.
Trump also claimed that Ukraine had lost 30 per cent of its territory and that more than two million people had died in the conflict. However, independent estimates put the proportion of Ukrainian territory under Russian control at about 20 per cent, while reliable recent figures for total military and civilian deaths remain unavailable.
The remarks came as Russian attacks continued across Ukraine. Ukrainian officials said at least 20 people were killed in the Zaporizhzhia region on Saturday after Russian aerial bombs struck residential buildings. Three children were among the dead, while at least 18 people were injured.
Zelenskyy condemned the diesel agreement between Washington and Moscow, warning that easing restrictions on Russian energy exports could provide the Kremlin with additional revenue to sustain its military campaign.
In a post on Telegram, the Ukrainian president urged the United States and its allies to limit Russia’s ability to finance the war, arguing that Moscow continued to target Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure.
Under the agreement announced by Trump, Russia would supply more than 300,000 tonnes of diesel initially, followed by 500,000 tonnes in November and another one million tonnes thereafter. Trump also said an additional three million tonnes would be delivered within a short period.
The US Treasury Department also issued a temporary licence permitting Russian diesel exports to the global market, marking a shift from Washington’s previous efforts to restrict Moscow’s energy revenues following the invasion of Ukraine.
The development comes amid continuing disagreements between the United States and Ukraine over negotiations to end the war, sanctions against Russia and the economic consequences of the conflict.
