President Donald Trump said on Saturday that it was time for Ukraine to find a new president, escalating a public dispute with Volodymyr Zelensky over a controversial diesel agreement with Russia. Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Trump accused the Ukrainian leader of wanting "to make problems for the world" by continuing to authorise attacks on Russian oil refineries. "He'd better damn well stop," Trump said, suggesting that Ukraine needs someone who "can make a deal." The clash was triggered by a new US-Russia arrangement, confirmed on Friday, that suspends sanctions on Russian diesel exports until 7 April.

Zelensky condemned the move as a "gift" to Vladimir Putin, warning that it would hand Moscow the cash needed to keep fighting. He pointed to fresh Russian strikes on Zaporizhzhia as proof that the Kremlin viewed the deal as permission to keep bombing Ukrainian cities. Since Russia's 2022 invasion, Ukraine has remained under martial law, meaning Zelensky cannot legally be removed by an election even if Trump wishes it. The timing could hardly be worse for global energy markets.

The US-Israeli war against Iran has already shut the Strait of Hormuz, a corridor that normally carries about a fifth of the world's traded oil products, and Russian and Ukrainian strikes on each other's energy infrastructure have tightened supplies further. Putin's envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, called Trump's comments "iconic and historic," insisting Ukraine needed leadership "actually focused on peace." Zelensky spent Saturday on the phone with allies across Europe, calling for "real decisions to protect lives." British Prime Minister Andy Burnham offered what Downing Street described as "complete solidarity," and the two leaders agreed Russia should accept an immediate energy ceasefire and halt attacks on Black Sea shipping.