Zelenskyy Rejects Trump's Call for New Ukraine Leader — SkimNews

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- Donald Trump said on Saturday (October 10) it was time for Ukraine to get a new president, blaming Zelenskyy for high U.S. diesel prices and claiming he 'could have made many deals and for some reason he never does.'
- Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded on Sunday (October 11) that only Russia bears responsibility for the war, writing on X: 'Ukraine will be ready to stop striking Russian oil refineries if Russia stops striking our energy infrastructure,' demanding reciprocal de-escalation backed by 'real guarantees.'
- Andrii Sybiha pushed back on Trump's comments late Saturday, writing that Zelenskyy 'has the support of the Ukrainian people, and they have the right to decide' and that foreign statements 'only confirm that he is doing his job well.'
- Trump struck a deal with Vladimir Putin on Friday (October 9) to buy Russian diesel to address U.S. fuel prices ahead of midterm elections, while blaming record diesel prices on Ukraine rather than the U.S.-led war in Iran that has driven up world energy prices — a deal Ukrainian and European officials said would help pay for Russia's war effort.
- Ukraine hit its third Yandex data center in four days on Sunday in Vladimir, east of Moscow, following strikes Thursday in Ryazan and Friday in Kaluga, causing outages across taxi and banking services in dozens of Russian cities plus Kazakhstan, Belarus, and Armenia.
- Russia bombed the southern city of Zaporizhzhia on Saturday (October 10), killing 23 people including four children and wounding more than 30, eight of whom remain hospitalized, according to Zelenskyy and regional official Ivan Fedorov.
Why it matters: Trump is publicly demanding the ouster of a U.S.-aligned wartime president while simultaneously purchasing Russian diesel — a posture Ukrainian and European officials warn directly finances Moscow's war effort. Three Yandex data-center strikes in four days show Ukraine escalating attacks on infrastructure deep inside Russia even as diplomatic pressure on Zelenskyy intensifies, narrowing the space for any negotiated end.
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