US President Donald Trump said Ukraine should choose a new leader who can negotiate an end to the war. He also said President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is “supposedly not ready to make deals”.
Trump made this statement as he was leaving the White House ahead of a trip to the state of Tennessee.
“I suggest Ukraine choose a new leader who can make a deal. For some reason, Zelenskyy never makes deals,” the White House chief said.
The American president said Zelenskyy had supposedly repeatedly had the opportunity to end the war but did not take it. Trump also criticised Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries, claiming they create “problems for the world and for American farmers”.
Trump also added that Washington had warned Zelenskyy against striking facilities linked to diesel fuel production in Russia. According to him, Zelenskyy was supposedly allowed to act at his own discretion, but was separately cautioned against such attacks.
“We told Zelenskyy: ‘Do what you want, but don’t attack diesel fuel.’ And what does he do? He goes and attacks it. He can do whatever he wants, but he can’t do that,” the American president said.
- A Ukrainian delegation arrived in the US for talks on Friday, 9 October, with negotiations also due to take place on Saturday, 10 October.
- At that time, it became known that President Donald Trump had agreed with Putin on supplies of Russian fuel to the American and global markets. According to the White House chief, Russia will “immediately” deliver more than 300,000 tonnes of fuel, and later a further 1.5 million tonnes.
- Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian negotiating team is being used as a “smokescreen”. According to him, while Ukrainian representatives in Florida were discussing a ceasefire in Ukraine with the Americans, Trump was negotiating with Putin.
- The President noted that the fuel supply agreements would bring Russia billions of dollars in additional revenue, which it could channel into continuing the war.
- On the evening of 10 October, Zelenskyy adviser Dmytro Lytvyn reported that the Ukrainian delegation was already returning home from the US. The second day of talks was “not so much cancelled”, and the first did not proceed as planned.