The president of the United States, Donald Trump, has lashed out this Saturday against the Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, and has publicly defended that the country choose "a new president."
"I think the time has come for Ukraine to have a new president," Trump stated to the media from Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, insisting on the need for a change in Ukrainian leadership.
The president has gone further by proposing a political shift in Kiev. "I suggest that Ukraine have a new leader who can reach an agreement. Zelensky for some reason never reaches agreements," he stated. In his opinion, "Zelensky could have resolved this war many, many times," but "chooses not to do so."
Trump has also accused the head of the Ukrainian state of acting irresponsibly on the international front, considering that "Zelensky wants to create problems for the world." In that line, he reproached him for his military operations against Russian energy infrastructure: "He wants to create problems for our farmers with his attacks on Russian refineries," he pointed out.
The U.S. president explained that Washington had clearly communicated its red lines to Kiev. "We told Zelensky, 'You can do whatever you want to Russia, but do not attack the refineries because that poses a problem for the world.' And what does he do? He goes and attacks the diesel fuel. He should stop it once and for all," he emphasized.
From Ukraine, the diplomatic response has not been long in coming. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Andri Sibiga, has emphasized that only the Ukrainian citizenry can decide on their political leadership and the future of their president.
"President Zelensky leads our nation in a time of war, a war for independence, freedom, and dignity. He has the support of the Ukrainian people and Ukrainians have the right to decide," Sibiga wrote on social media. "The statements coming from abroad only confirm that he is doing his job well. He deserves to be supported," he added, in a clear allusion to Trump's words.
In Russia, on the other hand, the statements from the occupant of the White House have been received with satisfaction. The presidential special representative for Investment and Cooperation with Foreign Countries and director of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, Kiril Dmitriev, has applauded Trump's message, calling it a "game over" for Zelensky on social media.
Attacks on refineries and energy pulse
In recent months, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have launched repeated attacks against Russian oil refineries with the aim of diminishing Moscow's military capacity in eastern Ukraine. These operations have been carried out despite warnings from Washington, which has just announced the lifting of sanctions on the export of Russian diesel.
President Zelensky himself has criticized this decision by the U.S. Administration, which he has described as a "gift" to Russian President Vladimir Putin. "This plays into Russia's hands, as it allows them to kill more people, prolong the war, have even less respect for the United States, and inflict even greater losses and damage on the world," the Ukrainian leader has argued.
In parallel, Trump has announced a "transcendental" agreement with his Russian counterpart for Russia to supply "immediately" more than 300,000 tons of diesel fuel to the U.S. and global market. As he detailed, the pact includes the shipment of "another 500,000 tons during the month of November and 1,000,000 tons immediately after," thus reinforcing the flow of Russian fuel to the United States and the rest of the world.