Trump asks Ukraine to change president, pressure to stop attacks on Russian oil refineries

U.S. President Trump today criticized Ukrainian President Zelensky for attacking Russian oil refineries and urged Ukraine to change its leadership, saying that related attacks contributed to high U.S. diesel prices ahead of the midterm elections. Washington has reportedly increased pressure and threatened to cut off vital intelligence sharing if Ukraine does not stop attacking Russian oil refineries.

Donald Trump told Agence France-Presse and other media at the White House today that he had told Volodomyr Zelenskyy, "You can do whatever you want to deal with Russia," but emphasized that "just don't touch the refineries."

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"He'd better stop," Trump said, adding later that he believed "it's time for Ukraine to have a new president who is willing to agree to end the war."

The Associated Press reported that Russia and Ukraine are currently locked in a long-range air battle, and the armies of both sides are mostly in a stalemate on the front lines. More than four and a half years after Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukraine is struggling to withstand increasingly fierce Russian bombing attacks that have killed more than 60 people in the past four days.

Trump said yesterday that he had reached an agreement with Russia and Russia would supply diesel to the United States and global markets. The arrangement reverses years of U.S. policy toward putting pressure on Moscow over Russia's invasion of Ukraine and is also intended to keep fuel prices down ahead of the U.S. midterm elections on November 3.

Just as Trump announced that he had reached a diesel agreement with Moscow, the Financial Times reported that U.S. officials increased pressure on Ukraine yesterday, demanding that Ukraine stop attacking Russian refineries and threatening to cut off intelligence sharing.

According to three people familiar with the matter, Zelensky's negotiating team met with Trump representatives in Miami, Florida, for nearly eight hours yesterday. They were originally expected to discuss how to push Russia to end the war. However, Trump suddenly announced a diesel agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin, catching Ukraine off guard and disrupting the progress of the talks.

People familiar with the matter said that Trump’s special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner mentioned in the meeting that the United States may cut off intelligence sharing if Ukraine ignores Washington’s request and stops attacking Russian oil refineries.

Ukraine used U.S. intelligence to attack Russian oil refineries in an attempt to cut off Moscow's vital source of revenue that supports the war.

After Trump announced the diesel deal, a senior Ukrainian official said Kyiv would still proceed. "We will continue to destroy (Russian) oil refineries," he said. Hours later, according to Russian authorities, Ukrainian troops attacked an oil transfer station in Rostov-on-Don.

The above-mentioned official also said that the Ukrainian team decided to end the trip to the United States early and cancel the second round of talks originally scheduled for today.

The Financial Times reported that Trump has repeatedly asked Zelensky to stop long-range drone attacks on the grounds that these actions affect the global diesel market and affect American consumers. As Ukraine repeatedly ignores U.S. demands, Trump and his team of envoys are increasingly dissatisfied. (Compiled by: Cai Jiamin)