Trump slams Zelensky: 'Kiev needs a new president for a deal'

Rags are flying between Washington and Kyiv: President Donald Trump, enraged by Volodymyr Zelensky's reactions to the US-Russia diesel deal and by the failure to stop Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries, is calling for a change in Ukrainian leadership with unprecedented verbal violence. Zelensky "could have ended this war on many occasions, he wants to create problems for the world and for farmers, it is time for Ukraine to have a new president," said the tycoon before an election rally in Tennessee. "I suggest that Ukraine find a new leader capable of reaching a deal," he added, stressing that Zelensky "can do what he wants, but he cannot hit the refineries." "Iconic and historic," exulted on X the Russian presidential envoy and negotiator Kirill Dmitriev, who published a Time cover with a photo of the Ukrainian president and the caption "The Endgame." Trump, according to consistent sources, is demanding that Ukraine unilaterally halt its attacks on Russian facilities, convinced that they are driving up energy prices in the United States: an absolutely crucial issue for the tycoon in the final weeks of the mid-term election campaign, decidedly uphill for the Republicans according to polls. And the new, perhaps decisive, U-turn by Washington in its relations with Moscow came during the phone call between Trump and Vladimir Putin, "lasting an hour and a half," "very intense and friendly," so much so that neither of them "wanted to be the first to hang up." The White House's 'slap in the face' to Zelensky, after the humiliation in the Oval Office, follows the furious criticism from Kyiv and Brussels of the diesel deal between Trump and Putin in exchange for the lifting of sanctions, a move branded as a "green light" for the escalation of Russian missiles and drones in Ukraine. Washington did not take kindly to this, putting on the table of the negotiations with the Ukrainians and Europeans, which were underway in the same hours in Miami, the threat to cut off intelligence sharing with Kyiv. Zelensky, after accusing the US of showing its weakness, doubled down while in Ukraine the daily deluge of bombs claimed the lives of more civilians. "Russia has expressed its gratitude for the lifting of sanctions on diesel exports by launching five guided bombs on residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia," he denounced as rescuers pulled bodies from the rubble, including those of three children. The final toll was 20 dead and 18 wounded, in yet another massacre this week. The Ukrainian leader, who received a phone call of solidarity from French President Emmanuel Macron — who also did not comment on the diesel deal — asked for "strong signals from the United States, Europe and other partners in support of Ukraine to reduce Russia's capacity to wage war and sow terror." Kyiv, it is clear, has no intention of following the American pressure by reducing its attacks on Russian territory; on the contrary, on the day of the diesel deal its drones caused the closure of Moscow's airports, forcing several Russian government aircraft — including the one carrying Putin returning from Turkmenistan — to divert to St. Petersburg and land in the capital only later. Another resounding broadside against the US-Russia phone deal came from Brussels: "Russian attacks have killed more than 80 Ukrainian civilians in two days, the suspension of sanctions on Russian diesel guarantees Moscow greater revenues to finance the war," thundered EU High Representative Kaja Kallas, also citing the intensification of hybrid attacks against Europe, and recalling that on Monday the EU Foreign Ministers intend to approve a broad package of sanctions against the Russian war machine. In this heated climate, a glimmer of peace would remain open. The Miami talks "were constructive," said US special envoy Steve Witkoff, who together with Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner would be evaluating a mission to Moscow in the coming weeks. Putin in the phone call with the tycoon "showed great understanding of some US proposals for the de-escalation of the conflict in Ukraine," say sources at the Kremlin. Meanwhile, however, the Ukrainian negotiating team left the Miami table early, a sign that in Kyiv they think differently. Video Russian raid destroys a building in Zaporizhzhia: at least 17 victims Reproduction reserved © Copyright ANSA