US President Donald Trump has said Ukraine should consider appointing a new representative to negotiate peace with Russia, arguing that President Vladimir Zelensky has failed to end the conflict despite having had opportunities to do so. His remarks have intensified an already deepening dispute over Ukraine’s military strategy and a recent US agreement with Moscow on Russian diesel exports.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Trump criticised Zelensky’s response to his deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which was aimed at increasing Russian diesel supplies to the global market and easing pressure on energy prices. Trump said the Ukrainian leader should have secured an end to the war much earlier.
“Zelensky’s a man that should have this war settled a long time ago,” Trump said. He added: “Zelensky doesn’t know what he’s talking about. To be honest, I think it’s time for someone else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine. Maybe it’s time for Zelensky to get someone else to negotiate.”
The disagreement centres partly on Ukraine’s continued attacks on Russian oil infrastructure, which Trump has repeatedly urged Kyiv to halt. The US president blames the attacks for contributing to rising global energy prices and accused Ukraine of failing to show sufficient gratitude for American assistance.
“We’ve given a lot to Ukraine, they’ve given nothing to us… We’ve given hundreds of billions of dollars,” Trump said on Monday.
The remarks followed an agreement reached between Trump and Putin earlier this month concerning Russian diesel exports. Under the reported arrangement, Washington would ease restrictions on Russian diesel exports and waive sanctions measures, including 500% tariffs on imports from Russia and 100% tariffs on major buyers of Russian oil and gas. In return, Russia would supply diesel to the global market and potentially to the United States.
The agreement has become a point of contention between Washington and Kyiv as Ukraine continues targeting Russian oil facilities despite Trump’s demands to stop the attacks. Trump’s latest comments indicate that the disagreement extends beyond the immediate energy issue to the question of who should represent Ukraine in negotiations over the conflict.
Asked whether he would be willing to negotiate a settlement with Russia and China without Zelensky present, Trump said his priority was ending the war. “Anything I can do to end the war, whether somebody is there or not,” he said.
Earlier on Monday, the Kremlin said Putin, Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping could meet on the sidelines of next month’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. The statement raised the possibility of discussions involving the leaders of the three countries, although no further details of a meeting were provided in the source.
Trump’s latest criticism followed similar comments over the weekend, when he said Zelensky “doesn’t want to end this war, and probably never did”. His repeated accusations have added to tensions over the direction of US policy towards the conflict and the terms on which a settlement might be reached.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also criticised the Ukrainian leadership on Sunday, claiming Zelensky had “no desire” to reach an agreement. Lavrov argued that the Ukrainian government would collapse if it accepted a settlement considered acceptable to both Washington and Moscow. His assessment was presented as Russia’s position rather than an established outcome of any negotiations.
Moscow has long accused Ukraine’s Western supporters of obstructing efforts to end the conflict. Russia has specifically alleged that former British prime minister Boris Johnson and other Western figures helped sabotage the 2022 peace talks in Istanbul. The Russian government has also identified the positions taken by Ukraine’s European backers as a major obstacle to resolving the war.
