US President Donald Trump on Saturday said it's time for Ukraine to get a new president, suggesting that current Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has not done enough to end Ukraine's war with Russia.

Speaking at the White House, Trump said, "I suggest they get a new leader who can make a [peace] deal," adding that "for some reason [Zelenskyy] never does."

Trump claimed Zelenskyy has "lost 30% of your country and you've had over a million people go between the two of them, over 2 million people killed. That's a war that should have never started. And I think it's time for Ukraine to get a new president."

Independent estimates put the percentage of Ukrainian territory under Russian control at 20%, with British defense officials recently stating that about half a million Russian soldiers had been killed in the war and that there were no reliable recent estimates about how many Ukrainians had died.

In his remarks, the US president also warned Kyiv against targeting Russian oil refineries.

Trump said he had told Zelenskyy to "do what you want" against Russia but "don't hit refineries."

"He better damn well stop," Trump added.

Trump again helping Putin, chiding Zelenskyy

Trump's calls for Zelenskyy to be replaced follow attacks leveled at the embattled ally on Friday, and Zelenskyy's condemnation of a US scheme that will fill Russia's state coffers and could allow Moscow to step up attacks.

Trump has been trying to deflect blame for rising fuel prices caused by his war with Iran onto Ukraine for the past several weeks and has publicly lambasted Zelenskyy for Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian oil infrastructure.

As US voters grow angrier and November midterm elections — which will determine the balance of power for the last two years of his presidency — near, Trump has repeatedly sought to pin blame for rising costs on Zelenskyy.

On Friday, Trump tried it again, claiming of the Ukrainian leader, "He wants to make problems for the world. He wants to make problems for our farmers, our ranchers, with diesel fuel."

Trump's statement came just after he had reached an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin — who launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022 and has illegally occupied Crimea since 2014 — to lift US sanctions on Russian diesel exports.

Russia welcomes Trump's call for Zelenskyy's ouster, EU mulls response

Trump's call for Zelenskyy's replacement has been well received in Moscow, with Kremlin special economic envoy Kirill Dimitriev posting on X, "President Trump joins the many who believe that Ukaine needs leadership actually focused on peace, not Zelenskyy's warmongering." 

Ukraine and its allies are still reeling after being blindsided by the announcement of the US-Russia diesel agreement on Friday.  

Trump's call for Zelenskyy's removal came just hours after Russian attacks killed 20 people in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region on Saturday.

Zelenskyy commented on X, "Today, Russia expressed its thanks for the lifting of sanctions on diesel exports by dropping five glide bombs on residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia."

Edited by: Srinivas Mazumdaru

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