Trump calls for replacing Ukraine's Zelenskyy in tussle over diesel deal with Russia
US President Donald Trump has called for the replacement of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy following a dispute over a diesel supply deal with Russia. Zelenskyy criticized the US for lifting sanctions on Russian diesel, linking the move to ongoing Russian military attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure.
Why it matters
This diplomatic friction highlights the complex intersection of global energy markets, US domestic politics, and the ongoing war in Ukraine.
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TRUMP. US President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media after disembarking Air Force One, after attending a campaign rally in Clarksville, Tennessee, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, on October 10, 2026. Eric Lee/Reuters
US President Donald Trump on Saturday, October 11, called for Ukraine to replace its leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy and railed against Ukraine’s attacks on Russian oil infrastructure, a day after announcing a diesel supply deal with Russia that had drawn a sharp rebuke from Zelenskyy.
In some of his harshest criticism yet of the White House, Zelenskyy linked the US lifting of sanctions on Russian diesel with a Russian attack on Saturday, October 10, that killed 20 people, including 3 children, in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia.
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