Trump Urges Kyiv Leadership Change Following Diesel Accord with Moscow

• Russian strike on Zaporizhzhia kills 20, including three children
• Zelenskiy warns lifting sanctions emboldens Moscow

October 11, 2026

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump called on Saturday for Ukraine to replace its current leadership, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and sharply criticized Kyiv’s attacks on Russian oil infrastructure. The comments came a day after Trump announced a diesel supply agreement with Russia, drawing immediate condemnation from Zelenskiy.

“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,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “I think it’s time for Ukraine to get a new president.”

Zelenskiy offered his sharpest rebuke of the White House to date, blasting Trump’s arrangement with Russian President Vladimir Putin to lift sanctions on Russian diesel. The move coincides with soaring energy prices that have become a political liability for Trump’s Republican Party ahead of next month’s midterm elections. The Russian government stated on Saturday that it had partially lifted a ban on diesel exports with immediate effect.

“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 a Saturday strike on that city which killed 20 people, including three children.

The southern city of Zaporizhzhia has frequently been targeted by Russian bombardment, with strike intensity increasing over the past few months.

Trump Says Strikes on Russian Energy ‘Better Damn Well Stop’

Trump’s decision to lift sanctions on Russian diesel exports, imposed roughly a year ago to cut funding for Russia’s war in Ukraine, aligns with persistently high fuel prices resulting from the U.S. conflict with Iran.

Kyiv had instead urged Washington to intensify pressure on Moscow to force it into serious negotiations to end the 4-1/2-year war.

Trump has criticized Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries, arguing they have driven up global prices, while Kyiv has requested a total halt on energy strikes from both sides as Moscow continues to target Ukraine’s power grid.

“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 as he departed for a political rally. “He better damn well stop,” Trump added.

A 6-year-old girl was among those killed in Zaporizhzhia when a strike reduced part of an apartment block to rubble.

This marked the third mass-casualty attack on Ukraine this week. Nearly 80 civilians were killed in Russian strikes on Wednesday and Thursday, including at least 30 deaths from a bomb in the eastern garrison city of Kramatorsk and 22 others from a missile in the town of Pryluky, approximately 130 km (80 miles) east of Kyiv.

The latest strikes followed discussions between Ukrainian and European officials joined by U.S. negotiators in Miami on Friday, aimed at developing a common proposal for ending the war, according to a person familiar with the talks.

Trump announced the diesel deal while negotiations were underway, a move Zelenskiy said had caught Kyiv by surprise. The Ukrainian delegation departed on Saturday, according to presidential aide Dmytro Lytvyn, cited by the Interfax Ukraine news agency.

Putin said after a call with Trump on Friday that an immediate resumption of peace talks was unlikely, citing Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow. U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner may visit Moscow within the next two weeks, Russian state news agency TASS reported on Saturday, citing a source.

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