Putin wants Ukraine deal more than Zelensky – Trump

The Ukrainian leader should focus on securing peace rather than criticizing Washington’s diesel deal with Moscow, the US president has said

Russian President Vladimir Putin is more eager than Vladimir Zelensky to reach a deal to end the Ukraine conflict, US President Donald Trump has said. Trump’s comments came after he suggested it is time for Ukraine to get a “new president.”

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Trump claimed both Moscow and Kiev support the energy ceasefire which he announced on Sunday. Neither Russia nor Ukraine has confirmed the truce.

“I think they want to make a deal, but they don’t know how. But we’re going to get them to make a deal,” Trump said.

“I think, actually, Putin wants to make a deal more than Zelensky,” he added.

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Trump also rejected criticism of his decision to ease sanctions on Russian diesel following a phone call with Putin on Friday, stressing that the agreement benefited the wider world and American farmers and ranchers.

“Zelensky has to focus on making a deal, not talking about that,” he stressed, referring to the Ukrainian leader’s criticism of the agreement.

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On Sunday, Trump announced that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an immediate “energy ceasefire.” Zelensky said the announcement “was news for me,” but expressed readiness to stop attacking Russian refineries if Moscow halted strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has declined to confirm the agreement, saying contacts were ongoing. While praising the efforts of American negotiators, Peskov stressed that Moscow is seeking long-term peace rather than a temporary ceasefire. Russian officials have long argued that a truce would only help Ukraine to reinforce its battered military and receive more Western-made weapons.

According to the New York Times, Ukrainian officials were informed of the US-Russia diesel deal during tense negotiations in Miami. The US delegation subsequently demanded that Ukraine stop striking Russian refineries, and when Kiev’s representatives asked what they would receive in return, the Americans reportedly argued that Washington already provided substantial assistance, including intelligence sharing. Some participants interpreted this as a veiled threat to withdraw support, the article said.

Following his conversation with Putin and Zelensky’s angry reaction to the diesel deal, Trump suggested that “it’s time for Ukraine to get a new president.” Zelensky’s presidential term expired more than two years ago, although the Ukrainian leader has refused to hold a new election, citing martial law. Russia has declared Zelensky “illegitimate,” highlighting his dubious legal status as a major obstacle to a peace agreement.

After a war of words with Trump, Zelensky signaled he was ready to hold an election but demanded a 60-day ceasefire with Russia. Moscow responded by stressing that “if Kiev genuinely wants to hold elections… then the president of the Russian Federation… will be ready to issue an order not to carry out strikes against Ukraine on the election day specifically.”