Trump Urges Zelenskyy Replacement Amid Diesel Deal with Russia

WASHINGTON: Donald Trump called on Saturday for Ukraine to “get a new leader” after Volodymyr Zelensky slammed Washington’s easing of Russian diesel sanctions, as the US president faces fuel price pressure weeks before midterm elections. Trump, whose Republicans face dim prospects in next month’s vote partly because of soaring energy costs, defended a deal allowing more Russian diesel onto global markets after saying Vladimir Putin wanted “strongly” to reach a settlement in Ukraine. Trump accused the Ukrainian president of blocking a deal with Moscow and ignoring instructions to not strike Russian refineries, while Kyiv and its European allies warned that easing pressure on Moscow would help fund the Kremlin’s war. The row unfolded as the latest Russian attacks across Ukraine killed at least 21 people, including children. Trump announced Friday that he had spoken to Putin and agreed for Russia to release large amounts of diesel into world markets. Ukraine and its European allies expressed dismay, with Zelensky telling reporters Friday it was a “weak decision.” Asked about the criticism, Trump said Zelensky had disobeyed his orders not to strike Russian refineries and that the attacks risked worsening fuel shortages linked to the US-Israeli war on Iran. “I suggest they get a new leader who can make a deal, because he could have made many deals that, for some reason, he never does,” Trump said. “Russia would like to make a deal… but for whatever reason, Zelensky does not want to make a deal,” he told reporters. The US president also criticised Zelensky for not holding an election since Russia’s invasion in 2022. “I think he should have an election, and he could have settled this thing many times,” Trump said. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said lifting sanctions on Russian diesel would only help sustain Russia’s war effort. “This is not the time to ease pressure on Russia, and Europe won’t,” she wrote online. UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham reiterated his “complete solidarity” with Zelensky in a call. Downing Street said Burnham also pledged that Britain would “strengthen its sanctions on Russia”. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga also backed his president. “He has the support of the Ukrainian people, and they have the right to decide,” he said in a post on X. On Saturday, a Russian glide bomb attack on the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia killed 20 people, including three children, according to Ukraine’s state rescue service. “Today, Russia expressed its thanks for the lifting of sanctions on diesel exports by dropping five glide bombs on residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia,” Zelensky said in a post on X. An AFP correspondent saw rescue workers pulling survivors and bodies from the rubble. “We saw people under the rubble — a woman, her husband and a child,” one rescuer, Daniil Pishkin, told AFP. He said two people were rescued alive, but “unfortunately there was a little girl who died”. A resident identified as Iryna, 69, said she managed to shelter in her bathroom after receiving an air-raid alert. “They were 75 years old. They were simply thrown out there, onto the street. They didn’t make it to the hospital,” she told AFP. A Russian drone attack in the central Dnipropetrovsk region killed an 11-year-old boy, regional officials said. Russia’s defense ministry said it had hit a “data center” used by Ukraine’s military. ISLAMABAD: Following approval of President Asif Ali Zardari, Governor’s rule and emergency have been enforced in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) to maintain law and order. As per details, the president has signed the summary for the imposition of an emergency and Governor’s Rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under Articles 232 and 234 of the Constitution.