'Time for Ukraine to get new president,' says Trump

President Trump ripped into Zelensky on Saturday telling reporters outside the White House that it’s time for Ukraine to “get a new president.”

The fiery comments came just hours after his administration announced a deal to have Russia supply 300,000 metric tons of diesel to the US and global energy markets.

The president described the arrangement as a direct response to Zelensky’s continued targeting of Russian oil refineries – even after Trump asked him to stop the attacks.

“I said to him: ‘do what you want, don’t hit refineries,’” Trump told reporters as he left the White House Saturday afternoon en route to a rally in Tennessee.

He hammered Zelensky for failing to bring about an end to the Ukraine war. “You’ve lost 30% of your country and you’ve had over a million people killed… I think it’s time for Ukraine to get a new president,” Trump fumed.

“Zelensky could have settled this war many times – many many times.  And he chooses not to. Very difficult. It’s a war that should have never been started,” he continued.

Trump said he told Zelensky “don’t hit the refineries… That’s a world problem that’s causing. And he wants to make problems for the world.”

Zelensky, meanwhile, has slammed the agreement between the US and Russia, casting the new deal as an "investment in a war that must be ended, not prolonged."

The back-and-forth between the leaders, who have long had a tumultuous relationship, came after Trump said Friday that he secured a deal from his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to supply markets with Russian diesel fuel as he works to bring down energy costs ahead of the midterm elections.

Trump wrote on social media that Putin agreed in a call to "immediately supply" more than 300,000 tons of diesel to global energy markets, with another 500,000 tons promised in November. Together, the amounts — equal to 6 million barrels of diesel fuel — would cover about a day and a half worth of US demand, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

Ukrainian strikes put growing strain on the country's oil supplies. Just this week, Kyiv has claimed strikes on five refineries across Russia, the latest of which were announced by Ukrainian authorities after Trump's Friday announcement.

Trump said that millions more tons of Russian diesel would be supplied following the first tranches "based on the condition of their Diesel Refineries."

Asked Saturday by CNN's Kevin Liptak about concerns that the deal with Russia could prolong the war in Ukraine, Trump said, "Zelensky could've settled this war many times… and he chooses not to."

The president went on to slam Zelensky for striking Russian refineries, claiming the Ukrainian president "wants to make problems for the world."

Zelensky said the move, which Trump announced as fresh Ukraine-US talks were getting underway in Miami, was "a weak decision of strong partners," while analysts said the agreement was not likely to lower diesel prices in any meaningful way.

According to the Kremlin readout of the phone call between the US and Russian leaders, Putin told Trump that Moscow was "ready to supply oil and petroleum products to the US and global markets."

"I am confident that this will have a positive impact on the entire global economy," Putin said, according to the Kremlin.

At the close of trading on Friday, diesel futures were down by about 4%.

A former senior State Department official said it doesn't matter if Putin can actually deliver the diesel because "now he's achieved the result he wants," which is Trump thinking he's gotten a pre-election bump and a potential impact on the markets.

During the leaders' call, Trump focused solely on diesel supplies, which have concerned Republicans as higher energy prices drive up other costs.

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