Trump Questions Zelensky Over U.S.-Russia Diesel Deal
Donald Trump said "it's time for Ukraine to get a new president" after Volodymyr Zelensky criticized a U.S. diesel arrangement with Russia. Trump spoke to reporters as he left the White House on Saturday, according to BBC.
Trump said Zelensky "wants to make problems for the world" by continuing to approve attacks on Russian oil refineries. He said "He'd better damn well stop" and said Ukraine should "get a new leader who can make a deal."
The disagreement centers on diesel. Trump confirmed on Friday that the U.S. had agreed with Moscow to suspend sanctions, or penalties that restrict trade, on Russian diesel exports until 7 April. Zelensky warned that a deal to release millions of tonnes of Russian diesel into the U.S. would give Moscow money to continue its war in Ukraine. He said easing the penalties would let Moscow raise new funds to buy new military equipment.
EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas joined the criticism on Saturday. She said suspending sanctions "provides Moscow with more revenues to wage war." She said European foreign ministers plan to approve the biggest package of sanctions on Russia since the start of its full-scale invasion, on Monday.
As background, Ukrainian assessments have tracked Russian fuel export controls for more than a year. Zelenskyy said a ban on gasoline and diesel exports was in effect in Russia, according to the Presidency of Ukraine. In a later assessment, he said Russia had imposed bans on aviation fuel and gasoline exports and was considering a ban on diesel exports, according to the Presidency of Ukraine. Kyiv has tried to increase that domestic fuel pressure through strikes on refineries.
The broader context here is a clash between two different pressure tactics. Washington is pausing sanctions as a bargaining tool with Moscow, while Kyiv is using long-range strikes to cut Russian fuel output and export income. Each side says its method creates leverage faster. Each side says the other's method weakens that leverage.
Looking at what this means for U.S.-European coordination on sanctions, the short-term test is practical. The U.S. suspension runs to a fixed date in April. The EU ministerial meeting is scheduled for Monday. If U.S. buyers can legally absorb Russian diesel while EU restrictions tighten, traders, insurers and shipping operators will face parallel regimes with different permissions. That split would complicate tracking fuel origin, checking compliance and managing effects on prices. It would also test political unity while Trump questions Zelensky's leadership and Brussels questions Washington's sanctions judgment.
