# Trump says Ukraine needs a new president after Zelensky attacks US deal for Russian diesel

Source: Searchable (https://searchable.pk/news/world/trump-says-ukraine-needs-a-new-president-after-zelensky-attacks-us-deal-for)
Type: News article
Author: Searchable Editorial
Published: 11 Oct 2026
Updated: 11 Oct 2026
Retrieved: 11 Oct 2026

> Donald Trump told reporters Ukraine should "get a new leader who can make a deal", a day after Washington eased sanctions to let Russian diesel onto world markets. Zelensky says the deal plays into Moscow's hands.

**US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that it is time for Ukraine to get a new president**, telling reporters that Volodymyr Zelensky had not done enough to end the war with Russia. "I suggest they get a new leader who can make a deal," Trump said, [CBS News reported](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russia-strikes-ukraine-trump-diesel-deal/).

The remarks came a day after Washington announced a deal for Russian diesel, which Zelensky had condemned. Trump blamed Ukraine's drone strikes on Russian oil refineries for high diesel prices in the US less than three weeks before the midterm elections, saying Zelensky "wants to make problems for our farmers, our ranchers, with diesel fuel".

## The diesel deal in numbers

Announced on Friday 9 October, the arrangement as described by Trump and reported by CBS News:

| Stage | Russian diesel |
| --- | --- |
| Immediately | More than 300,000 tons |
| November | 500,000 tons |
| Straight after | 1 million tons |
| Later, depending on refinery repairs | 3 million tons |

To make it possible, the US Treasury said it would temporarily waive sanctions on Russia's energy sector so Russian diesel can be sold on world markets. That cuts against the broad Russia sanctions law Trump signed last month. No price for the fuel has been published.

## What Zelensky and Kyiv said

Zelensky said Russia would repay the deal "with further terror and perfidy" and that it "plays into Russia's hands". On Saturday he wrote that Russia had answered the easing of sanctions by dropping five glide bombs on residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia, adding that "different signals are needed".

Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said Zelensky has "the support of the Ukrainian people, and they have the right to decide". In the US, former Vice President Mike Pence said the deal "makes no sense" and urged Trump to rescind it.

## Strikes on Saturday

Russian strikes killed at least 20 people, including three children, in the Zaporizhzhia region, regional military head Mykhailo Semikin said, and wounded at least 18. A daytime missile attack on Kyiv wounded four people, according to Mayor Vitalii Klitschko. Russian bombardment has killed more than 60 people in four days, CBS News said, and the front line, more than four and a half years into the war, is largely unchanged.

## Why it matters in Pakistan

Diesel is the fuel that moves Pakistan's goods trucks, tractors and tube wells, and its price follows world markets. More Russian diesel on the market could ease the global price over the coming months, but nothing in the deal changes the price at Pakistani pumps by itself: that is set by the government's fortnightly review. PSO's ex-depot Karachi diesel price is **Rs 396.24 a litre** on 11 October; follow it, with the history, on our [diesel price page](/data/diesel-price), and work out a trip's cost with the [fuel cost calculator](/tools/cars/fuel-cost-calculator).

## Frequently asked questions

**What did Trump say about Zelensky?**

On 10 October 2026 Trump told reporters Ukraine should get "a new leader who can make a deal" and blamed Zelensky's strikes on Russian refineries for high US diesel prices, CBS News reported.

**What is the US-Russia diesel deal?**

Announced on 9 October, it has Russia supplying more than 300,000 tons of diesel at once, 500,000 tons in November and 1 million tons after that, with the US Treasury temporarily waiving energy sanctions to allow it.

## Sources

- Trump says Ukraine needs new president, blames Zelenskyy for diesel prices (CBS News): https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russia-strikes-ukraine-trump-diesel-deal/
- Trump calls for replacing Ukraine's Zelenskiy in tussle over diesel deal with Russia (Business Recorder (Reuters)): https://www.brecorder.com/news/40443665/trump-calls-for-replacing-ukraines-zelenskiy-in-tussle-over-diesel-deal-with-russia

How to cite: "Trump says Ukraine needs a new president after Zelensky attacks US deal for Russian diesel", Searchable, 11 Oct 2026, https://searchable.pk/news/world/trump-says-ukraine-needs-a-new-president-after-zelensky-attacks-us-deal-for