U. S. President Donald Trump said Vladimir Zelensky is creating problems not only for Washington but for the wider world. According to Trump, U.S. officials had urged Ukraine to stop striking Russian oil refineries, but Zelensky continued to act on his own terms.
Trump argued that such attacks could create diesel shortages for American farmers because Russia supplies a significant share of diesel fuel to global markets.
The U.S. president also said Ukraine should elect a new president. In his view, Zelensky had several opportunities to reach a settlement in the conflict but chose not to pursue them.
In September, Trump had already spoken out against strikes on Russian refineries. He said problems with diesel supplies on the global market were linked not to developments in the Middle East, but to the conflict in Ukraine.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump held a phone call during which they agreed on supplies of Russian diesel fuel to the U.S. market. After that, the U. S. Treasury lifted restrictions on transactions involving Russian diesel and issued a temporary license allowing supplies through April 7, 2027.