On the 10th, local time, U.S. President Trump suddenly declared in the White House that “Ukraine should have a new president.” He accused U.S. President Zelensky of attacking Russian refineries despite U.S. warnings, causing U.S. diesel prices to rise, and U.S. unwillingness to end the Russo-Ukrainian conflict. Recently, in order to ease U.S. domestic inflation, Trump reached an agreement with Russian President Putin that U.S. sanctions against Russia would be relaxed in exchange for Russian diesel sales abroad. To this, Zelensky criticized this as a “weak decision” and claimed to feel “betrayed.” Trump‘s remarks about “changing U.S. president” and the U.S.-Russian diesel agreement shook the West, especially Ukraine and many of U.S. European allies. Czech Prime Minister Babiš said the U.S. move was a “great insult” to Europe, “undoubtedly a loud slap in the face.”
As the war in Udon intensifies, Ukraine is anxious to replenish its forces. The Ukrainian military police recently inspected pedestrians on the streets of Kiev, preparing to forcibly conscript men into the military.
“The Strictest Reproach”
According to the New York Times on the 10th, Trump told reporters at the White House that the United States had repeatedly warned Zelensky “not to attack Russian refineries, because it would cause world-wide problems, but Zelensky did it anyway, so he better stop.” Trump said, “I suggest Ukraine change to a new leader who can reach an agreement, because he [Zelensky] had many opportunities to end this war, but for some reason, he chose not to do so.” Trump blamed Zelensky for the high domestic diesel prices in the United States, saying he “wants to create trouble for the whole world, wants to create trouble for our farmers and ranchers on the diesel fuel problem.”
On the same day, Trump, in a media interview at Andrews Joint Base in Maryland, again accused Zelensky of not holding elections in Ukraine since the outbreak of the 2022 Russo-Ukrainian conflict. “He should hold elections,” he said. “Russia wants to reach an agreement, but Zelensky doesn‘t want to reach an agreement.”
The Wall Street Journal said Trump‘s remarks were his harshest rebuke to Zelensky so far. His direct demand for a leadership change in Ukraine marks another sharp deterioration in U.S.-Ukrainian relations and may undermine recent European efforts to persuade Trump to continue supporting Ukraine and exerting pressure on Russia.
Just the day before, Trump announced that he and Putin had reached an agreement on Russia‘s supply of diesel to the U.S. and global markets. The U.S. Treasury released a statement on the 9th saying that the U.S. will relax sanctions on Russian diesel trade in the coming months to ease domestic diesel supply tensions and tame oil prices. Zelensky subsequently said that allowing Russia to sell oil products “is investing in war,” expressing disappointment and saying he felt “betrayed.”
The U.S. Axios News Network reported on the 10th, quoting a U.S. official, that Zelensky had previously ignored six U.S. requests to stop attacking Russian refineries. According to the report, Ukraine has launched multiple attacks on Russian refineries over the past week, with the latest attack being announced by the Ukrainian government after U.S.-Russian leaders reached an agreement on diesel issues.
Kiev‘s Internal Reactions Are Complex
Zelensky did not respond directly to Trump‘s “Ukraine should have a new president”. He posted on social media on the 11th that “any measures to ease the situation should be mutual and should be solidly guaranteed. If Russia stops attacking Ukraine‘s energy facilities, Ukraine will also stop attacking Russian refineries.” On the 10th, he spoke on the phone with French President Macron, British Prime Minister Burnham and other European leaders to discuss how to respond to the challenges posed by the U.S.-Russian diesel agreement, calling for increased aid to the Ukraine and sanctions against Russia.
According to the AFP news agency, Ukrainian foreign minister Serbiga supported Zelensky on the 10th, saying, “He has the support of the Ukrainian people… Statements from abroad can only confirm that he has done a good job. He deserves support.”
However, according to the Ukrainian “National Network” reported on the 10th, former Ukrainian senator Novinsky publicly called for Zelensky to resign. He said that Trump‘s harsh criticism of Zelensky and the failure of the Ukrainian delegation to negotiate with the U.S. in Miami showed that Zelensky must immediately resign and transfer power to the Supreme Rada (Parliament). He believed that the Supreme Rada, recognizing its responsibility to the people, should establish a working group and conduct direct negotiations with Russia to end the conflict. He said that continuing the war would cause Ukraine to completely lose its national status and would be a disaster for the Ukrainian people.
Ambassador-at-Large Milošnik of the Russian Foreign Ministry said on social media on the day 10 that Trump’s remarks about the need for a change of leadership in Ukraine provoked “hysterical screams and dead-silent astonishment” in Kiev. The U.S. president’s remarks shocked the “Kiev elite,” Milošnik said. “These people have been following Washington’s lead.”
Interestingly, U.S. billionaire Musk forwarded a White House video of Trump‘s speech on the 10th and commented, “Zelensky is going too far.” According to the Associated Press, Zelensky sought permission to use Star Chain to guide drones to strike deep targets in Russia during his visit to the United States in July, but Musk declined.
“Europe is a loser”?
The U.S. Axios News Network reported that while the U.S. and Ukraine reached an agreement on diesel exports, the U.S. and Ukraine held talks in Miami on the 9th, which is one of the efforts the U.S. is making to restart the Russo-Ukrainian peace talks. However, during the short 8-hour talks held in Miami, Ukrainian representatives were told that Trump has decided to lift sanctions on Russian diesel exports due to the U.S.‘s repeated disregard for U.S. requests to stop attacks on Russian refineries. The U.S. also warned that if the U.S. continues to ignore U.S. requests, Trump may cut off intelligence support for the U.S.
The Russian newspaper Opinion quoted political scholars’ analysis that Zelensky’s strategy (referring to attacking Russian oil facilities) was actually betting on the Democrats before the United States midterm election. The attack on Russian oil facilities caused U.S. oil prices to rise, giving the Democrats an excuse to attack Trump. The report said Zelensky’s move was ill-calculated. Even if the Republicans lose the United States midterm election, Trump is still the U.S. president.
Regarding the U.S. “turn,” EU Foreign and Security Policy Senior Representative Karras said on the tenth that it “will provide Moscow with more revenue to wage war.” She emphasized that “Europe will not relax its pressure on Russia.” Britain and Germany also said that their support for Ukraine “remains unwavering.”
However, Czech Prime Minister Babiš said on the 10th: “I understand that Trump is facing midterm elections, but for Europe, this is undoubtedly a loud slap in the face.” Czech Vice Prime Minister Havlicek was even more blunt: “Europe is the loser.”