US President Donald Trump has called for Ukraine to replace President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and warned Kyiv to halt attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, as a Russian strike on the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia killed 20 people, including three children.
“I suggest they get a new leader who can make a deal because he could have made many deals, but for some reason he never does,” Reuters cited Trump telling reporters at the White House on Saturday.
“I think it's time for Ukraine to get a new president.”
Trump’s remarks came a day after he announced a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to lift sanctions on Russian diesel exports, a move that drew sharp criticism from Zelenskiy as Ukraine seeks greater US pressure on Moscow to end the war.
“Today, Russia said thank you for the lifting of sanctions on diesel exports by dropping five glide bombs on residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia,” Zelenskiy said following Saturday’s attack.
The Russian government said it had partially lifted its ban on diesel exports with immediate effect.
The sanctions, imposed about a year ago, were intended to restrict Moscow’s revenue for financing its war in Ukraine. Their relaxation comes as global fuel prices remain elevated following the US conflict with Iran, creating political pressure for Trump’s Republican Party ahead of next month’s midterm elections.
Trump has repeatedly criticised Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries, arguing that they contribute to higher global energy prices.
“I said to him, 'Do what you want. Don't hit refineries. There's plenty of targets. Don't hit refineries.' And he went out and he hit,” Trump said of Zelenskiy.
“He better damn well stop,” he added.
Kyiv, meanwhile, has called for a complete halt to energy strikes by both sides, as Russian attacks continue to batter Ukraine’s power grid.
The latest bombardment of Zaporizhzhia, in southern Ukraine, was the third mass-casualty attack on the country this week. A six-year-old girl was among those killed when a strike reduced part of an apartment building to rubble.
Nearly 80 civilians were killed in Russian strikes on Wednesday and Thursday, including at least 30 in an attack on the eastern garrison city of Kramatorsk and 22 in a missile strike on Pryluky, about 130km east of Kyiv.
The latest violence followed talks between Ukrainian and European officials and US negotiators in Miami on Friday to develop a common proposal for ending the war.
Trump announced the diesel deal while the discussions were under way, catching Kyiv by surprise, according to Zelenskiy. The Ukrainian delegation was heading home on Saturday, presidential aide Dmytro Lytvyn was cited by Interfax Ukraine as saying.
Putin said after a telephone call with Trump on Friday that an immediate resumption of peace talks was unlikely, citing Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow.
Meanwhile, US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner could visit Moscow within the next two weeks, Russian state news agency TASS reported on Saturday, citing a source. - October 11, 2026
