WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Saturday urged Ukraine to replace President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and halt strikes on Russian refineries. He announced a diesel supply agreement with Moscow a day earlier.
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service reported that Russian aerial bombs killed 20 people, including three children, in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia. Zelenskiy linked Saturday’s attack to the easing of US sanctions on Russian diesel.
Earlier in the day, Zelenskiy said the agreement had emboldened Moscow. He accused Russia of dropping five glide bombs on residential buildings and warned that easing pressure encouraged further attacks.
“I think it’s time for Ukraine to get a new president,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
He blamed Ukrainian refinery strikes for disrupting global diesel supplies and hurting American farmers and ranchers. Trump also accused Zelenskiy of failing to reach a peace agreement and demanded that Kyiv stop attacking Russian energy facilities.
Kyiv has urged Washington to increase pressure on Moscow to secure serious negotiations. Zelensky maintained that stronger signals, rather than sanctions relief, were needed to persuade Russia to stop fighting.
Russia’s government announced on Saturday that it had partially lifted a ban on diesel exports.
The agreement drew criticism within Trump’s own party. Republican US Representative Don Bacon of Nebraska called on Washington to apply sanctions Congress recently passed, rather than relax restrictions.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham spoke with Zelenskiy on Saturday and pledged stronger sanctions against Russia, according to Downing Street. Both leaders urged Moscow to agree to an immediate energy ceasefire.
They called for an end to strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure and attacks on Black Sea shipping. Britain’s account argued that this could increase energy and food supplies to global markets.
President Vladimir Putin of Russia offered little prospect of an immediate return to peace talks after speaking with Trump on Friday. He cited Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow as a reason.
Read: Putin-US Envoys Meeting Lasts Three Hours in Moscow
Presidential aide Dmytro Lytvyn indicated that the Ukrainian delegation was returning home on Saturday, Interfax Ukraine reported.
Ukrainian and European officials met US negotiators in Miami on Friday to work on a common peace proposal. A person familiar with the talks told Reuters.
Trump announced the diesel arrangement while the negotiations were underway. Zelenskiy said the announcement had caught Kyiv by surprise.
Russian state news agency TASS cited an unnamed source saying US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner might visit Moscow within two weeks.
Downing Street confirmed that Burnham and Zelenskiy have agreed to meet in person in the coming days.
(With additional input from the Associated Press)
