President Donald Trump said on Saturday (October 10, 2026) it was time for Ukraine to get a new president, suggesting Volodymyr Zelenskyy has not done enough to end his country's war with Russia and blaming him for high diesel prices in the U.S.
“I suggest they get a new leader who can make a deal because he could have made many deals and for some reason he never does,” Mr. Trump said.
uncertain
Trump → say → reason
The President, who on Friday (October 9, 2026) struck a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to buy diesel from Russia in an attempt to address high fuel prices ahead of the U.S. midterm elections, has been urging Mr. Zelenskyy for weeks to stop strikes on Russian energy infrastructure.
asserted
who → strike → infrastructure
He has also sought to blame record U.S. diesel prices on Ukraine rather than the U.S.-led war in Iran, which has elevated world energy prices.
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which → seek → prices
“He wants to make problems for the world.
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He → want → world
He wants to make problems for our farmers, our ranchers, with diesel fuel,” Mr. Trump said, before departing for Tennessee where he was set to rally Republican voters.
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he → want → voters
An Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research poll conducted last month and published October 1 found that Americans disapprove of Trump's handling of Iran, and blame him for higher prices.
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Americans → conduct → prices
Mr. Trump also suggested that if he had been U.S. President in 2022, “that war would have never started.
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war → suggest → 2022
There was no reason that that war with Ukraine and Russia started.
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war → be → Ukraine
It started due to incompetence.”
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It → start → incompetence
Mr. Zelenskyy has “lost 30% of your country, and you've had over a million people go between the two of them, over 2 million people killed.
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people → lose → them
That's a war that should have never started.
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that → start → ?
And I think it's time for Ukraine to get a new president," Mr. Trump said.
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Trump → think → president
British defence officials recently estimated that about half a million Russian soldiers have been killed in the war; there are no reliable recent estimates about how many Ukrainians have died.
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Ukrainians → estimate → war
Mr. Trump's extraordinary intervention came after Russian strikes killed at least 20 people in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region, Ukrainian officials said on Saturday (October 10, 2026).
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officials → come → Saturday
Three children were among those killed when Russian aerial bombs hit residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine's State Emergency Service said on Saturday (October 10, 2026).
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Service → kill → Saturday
At least 18 people were wounded.
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people → wound → ?
Russia and Ukraine are locked in a long-range aerial war while their armies remain largely deadlocked on the front line, more than 4 1/2 years since Moscow's full-scale invasion.
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armies → lock → invasion
Ukraine is struggling to counter escalating Russian bombardments that have killed more than 60 people over the past four days.
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that → struggle → days
“Today, Russia expressed its thanks for the lifting of sanctions on diesel exports by dropping five glide bombs on residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote Saturday (October 10, 2026) on X.
He said the attacks show Moscow understands “any easing of pressure to mean they can keep fighting, to mean they can keep dropping bombs on cities."
“Russia's choice is war,” Mr. Zelenskyy said in a later Telegram post, after drone attacks on energy facilities and a ballistic missile attack on Kyiv.
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Zelenskyy → express → Kyiv
He said every additional billion dollars Russia earns from exports would help pay for weapons components, drone upgrades, missile production, and the recruitment of mercenaries, and that Moscow would only be ready to stop when its ability to fight diminished.
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ability → say → mercenaries
Moscow received from diesel deal "signals that it is apparently permissible to continue attacking.
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it → receive → signals
And this needs to be corrected,” he said, urging the U.S., Europe and other partners to limit Russia's capacity to wage war.
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he → need → war
Mr. Zelenskyy said Ukraine was coordinating steps to counter the extra revenue Russia will receive, and that he had spoken to French President Emmanuel Macron about shoring up air defences, warning of an increased risk of further missile strikes in the coming days.
He also said he had discussed the developments with Finnish President Alexander Stubb, and that Ukraine would receive ammunition in the coming days for the F-16s it uses to intercept Shahed drones.
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it → say → drones
Mr. Trump had been set to discuss a suspected case of plague in Russia with President Vladimir Putin in a phone call.
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Trump → set → call
Instead, the American leader announced Friday (October 9, 2026) that Russia will immediately supply more than 3,00,000 tons of diesel, followed by an additional 5,00,000 tons in November and 1 million tons “immediately thereafter”.
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Russia → announce → November
Russia will deliver an additional 3 million tons “within a short period of time” after that, he wrote.
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he → deliver → that
In Kyiv, people gathered at a memorial to fallen soldiers on Independence Square greeted the deal with a mix of anger and resignation.
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people → gather → anger
“Trump has once again shown his true face,” said Oleksandr Petrenko, 26.
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Petrenko → show → face
“He didn't care about the situation, the shelling or the destruction of our homes.
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He → care → homes
All he's interested in is oil or the fuel prices and how much Americans have to pay.”
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Americans → have → much
“Knowing Trump, he tries to manipulate the markets.
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he → know → markets
He's got an election coming up soon,” Mr. Petrenko said.
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Petrenko → get → ?
“So he needs to emphasise to his voters that gasoline will be cheap.
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gasoline → need → voters
For Oksana Yakunina, a financial adviser from the central city of Kropyvnytskyi, the announcement “didn't really come as a surprise.”
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announcement → come → surprise
“Trump has been working with Putin for a long time,” she told The Associated Press.
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she → work → Press
Ukraine's European allies expressed dismay at the deal and said they stood by their commitment to sanctions.
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they → express → sanctions
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Stockholm regretted the agreement, “as energy revenues are central to the Russian war chest,” and noted that the European Union would adopt its most comprehensive sanctions package yet on Monday (October 12 2026), with 1,600 listings targeting Russia's military-industrial complex.
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listings → say → complex
The German government “remains committed to the sanctions imposed on Russia and is working with its European partners on further sanctions,” spokesperson Stefan Kornelius said, adding that support for Ukraine “remains unwavering.”
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support → remain → Ukraine
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski questioned whether Russia could deliver at all.
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Russia → question → ?
Citing his embassy's reports of fuel shortages even in Moscow, and “serious sources” saying Ukraine has damaged about half of Russia's refining capacity, he asked on X: “So where will the surpluses for export come from?”
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surpluses → cite → export
…and 7 more, not listed.
The Aporia
