President Donald Trump called for Ukraine to replace President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday, Oct. 10, accusing the Ukrainian leader of failing to reach a peace agreement with Russia. His comments came hours after Russian strikes killed at least 20 people in southern Ukraine and a day after Trump announced a deal allowing Russia to resume diesel exports.
“I suggest they get a new leader who can make a deal, because he could have made many deals, and for some reason he never does,” Trump told reporters before departing for Tennessee.
Trump went further, arguing that the war would never have started if he had been president when Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
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“If I were president, you wouldn’t have ever had that war,” Trump said. “That war would have never started. There was no reason that war with Ukraine and Russia started. It started due to incompetence.”
Trump told reporters Ukraine had better stop striking Russian oil targets, adding, “And I think it’s time for Ukraine to get a new president.”
Deadly Russian strikes follow diesel agreement
Trump’s remarks came as Ukraine reported another deadly Russian attack. At least 20 people, including three children, were killed Saturday when Russian forces struck the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, according to Ukrainian officials. Eighteen others were wounded.
Mykhailo Semikin, a senior official in Zaporizhzhia, said Russian forces struck several locations simultaneously in the early morning hours, Reuters reported. The industrial city, which had a prewar population of more than 700,000, is less than 20 miles from the front line and has faced increasingly frequent Russian bombardment.
Zelenskyy directly linked the attack to the Trump administration’s decision Friday to ease sanctions on Russian diesel exports.
“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.
In a separate post on X Saturday, Zelenskyy said Russia had also launched ballistic missiles at Kyiv following repeated drone attacks targeting energy facilities. He said Ukrainian defenses intercepted some of the missiles.
Zelenskyy warned that allowing Russia to resume petroleum exports would provide additional revenue to fund its military operations.
“Every additional billion dollars they can earn from exports will be spent on nothing but sourcing and importing critical components and equipment to manufacture weapons, upgrading ‘shaheds,’ producing missiles, and recruiting even more mercenaries to fight at the front,” Zelenskyy wrote.
He accused Russia of seeking to prolong the war rather than negotiate an end to the fighting.
“Russia’s choice is war,” Zelenskyy wrote. “And they will be ready to end it only when they feel that their ability to drag the war out is diminishing.”
The Ukrainian president also called for stronger action from the United States and European allies, arguing that Friday’s announcement had sent Moscow the wrong message.
“Unfortunately, the signals Russia received yesterday were entirely different — signals suggesting that it could simply keep attacking,” Zelenskyy wrote.
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Rescuers evacuate a wounded woman Alina, 22, found under debris of an apartment building damaged during a Russian air strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine October 10, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer -
Rescuers work at a site of an apartment building damaged during a Russian air strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, October 10, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer -
Rescuers work at a site of an apartment building damaged during a Russian air strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, October 10, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer -
Rescuers evacuate a wounded woman Alina, 22, found under debris of an apartment building damaged during a Russian air strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine October 10, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer -
Firefighters work at the site of the boat station damaged by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, October 10, 2026. REUTERS/Vladyslav Smilianets
Trump announces Russian diesel deal
On Friday, Trump announced an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin to supply diesel fuel to American and international markets. According to Trump’s Truth Social post, Russia would immediately supply 300,000 tons of diesel, followed by 500,000 tons in November and another 1 million tons afterward.
Trump said Russia would eventually deliver an additional 3 million tons, depending on the condition of its refineries. The U.S. Treasury Department also waived sanctions on Russian diesel fuel through April 2027.
The agreement comes as Americans face historically high diesel prices. The national average reached more than $6.50 per gallon in September before falling to $6.28 on Friday, according to AAA figures. Higher diesel prices have affected industries including agriculture and long-haul trucking, contributing to increased transportation and consumer costs.
Ukraine’s attacks on Russian oil refineries have contributed to the disruption. Kyiv said earlier this week that its strikes had reduced Russia’s oil-refining capacity by more than half. Zelenskyy has defended those attacks as retaliation for Russia’s sustained campaign against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
“Our strikes on Russian oil refineries and other oil facilities are a response to Russia’s years-long campaign of terror against Ukraine’s energy sector,” Zelenskyy wrote Friday on X.
He said Ukraine would stop attacking Russian oil facilities if Moscow agreed to stop targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
“Ukraine will not set Russian oil refineries on fire if Russia does not destroy our energy infrastructure,” Zelenskyy said.
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