President Trump said Saturday that Ukraine should replace Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a day after Zelenskyy blasted Trump’s deal to let Russia sell diesel around the world. “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,” Reuters reported.
The same day, a Russian strike on Zaporizhzhia killed 20 people, including three children. “Today, Russia said thank you for the lifting of sanctions on diesel exports by dropping five glide bombs on residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia,” Zelenskyy said.
Why did Trump say Ukraine needs a new leader?
The fight is over diesel. On Friday, Trump announced a deal with Vladimir Putin to lift U.S. sanctions on Russian diesel exports, aiming to bring down fuel prices before the midterms. Zelenskyy, who learned about it while his negotiators were in Miami meeting with U.S. officials, called it “not fair and not honest” and a “birthday gift” to Putin.
Trump also blamed Ukraine’s drone strikes on Russian oil refineries for high fuel 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. “He better damn well stop.”
How did Ukraine and Russia respond?
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Zelenskyy “has the support of the Ukrainian people” and that “the Ukrainian people have the right to decide,” SBS reported. Ukraine can’t legally hold elections under martial law, which has been in place since Russia’s full invasion in 2022.
Moscow was thrilled. Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s special envoy, called Trump’s remarks “symbolic and historic” and said Ukraine needs “a leader focused on real peace, not Zelenskyy’s warmongering behavior.” Russia said it was immediately lifting part of its own ban on diesel exports.
What happened in Ukraine this week?
It was one of the deadliest weeks for civilians in months. Nearly 80 people were killed in Russian strikes Wednesday and Thursday, including at least 30 by a bomb in Kramatorsk and 22 by a missile in Pryluky, Reuters reported, then 20 more in Zaporizhzhia on Saturday. Putin said after his call with Trump that peace talks are unlikely to resume soon. Russian state media reported that U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner may visit Moscow within two weeks.
The BeezLoop Take
An American president telling a democratic ally to get rid of its wartime leader, the day after cutting a deal with the leader invading it, is something no previous president would have done. The timing makes it worse: Russia welcomed the remarks and dropped glide bombs on apartment buildings the same day.
Zelenskyy isn’t above criticism, and Americans can fairly ask what the endgame in Ukraine is. But the choice of who leads Ukraine belongs to Ukrainians. When the Kremlin is the one cheering, it’s worth asking whose interests this serves.
The open question: if Witkoff and Kushner go to Moscow, will Ukraine even be at the table?
Also on BeezLoop: Trump’s diesel deal with Putin won’t do much except help Russia, experts say, and a missile killed three 1-year-olds in Ukraine this week.
Sources: Reuters via Honolulu Star-Advertiser · Straight Arrow News · SBS · BBC News (video)
