United States President Donald Trump has called for the removal of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after blaming the Ukrainian leader for rising diesel prices, which have put pressure on the Republican Party ahead of the November midterm elections.
asserted
which → call → elections
The criticism on Saturday came as tensions between the US and Ukraine have increased after Trump announced a diesel supply deal with Russia.
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Trump → come → Russia
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“I think it’s time for Ukraine to get a new president,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Saturday, saying Zelenskyy had hurt global diesel supplies with strikes on Russian refineries.
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Zelenskyy → kill → refineries
“He wants to make problems for our farmers, our ranchers with diesel fuel because Russia supplies a large portion of the diesel fuel throughout the world,” Trump added.
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Trump → want → world
Zelenskyy on Sunday pushed back, vowing to continue striking Russian oil refineries.
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Zelenskyy → push → refineries
“Ukraine will be ready to stop striking Russian oil refineries if Russia stops striking our energy infrastructure,” Zelenskyy wrote on X.
“It is possible to stop strikes on energy infrastructure as early as today, but (Russian President Vladimir) Putin does not want to do so,” he said.
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he → stop → today
This is not the first time Trump has lambasted Zelenskyy.
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Trump → lambast → Zelenskyy
Their tense relationship goes back to Trump’s first term as president, when he pressured Zelenskyy to investigate his rival, Joe Biden, and his son, Hunter Biden.
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he → go → rival
Here’s a timeline of some of the occasions when Trump has been critical of Zelenskyy:
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Trump → ’ → Zelenskyy
In his remarks at the White House, Trump criticised Zelenskyy over the lack of a peace deal while demanding an end to Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy facilities.
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Trump → criticise → facilities
“I said to him, ‘Do what you want.
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you → say → what
And he went out and he hit,” Trump said.
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Trump → go → ?
“He better damn well stop.”
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He → stop → ?
“I suggest they get a new leader who can make a deal because he could have made many deals, but for some reason, he never does,” Trump added.
uncertain
Trump → suggest → reason
Trump, who has been urging Zelenskyy to stop attacking Russian energy infrastructure for weeks, struck a deal with Putin on Friday to buy diesel from Russia in an attempt to reduce high fuel prices.
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who → urge → prices
The deal marked a stunning reversal of years of Washington’s pressure on Russia over its full scale invasion of Ukraine.
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deal → mark → Ukraine
Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said every additional $1bn Russia earns from exports would help pay for weapons components, drone upgrades, missile production and the recruitment of mercenaries.
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earns → say → mercenaries
Moscow would only be ready to stop when its ability to fight diminished, he added.
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he → stop → fight
On April 15 , Trump criticised Zelenskyy and implied Kyiv had started the war against Russia, saying the Ukrainian leader was “always looking to purchase” US missiles.
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leader → criticise → missiles
“You don’t start a war against someone 20 times your size and hope people give you some missiles,” Trump said.
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Trump → start → missiles
Then on April 23 , he criticised Zelenskyy for making “very harmful” statements after the Ukrainian president pushed back against the idea of ceding occupied Crimea to Russia in a potential peace deal.
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president → criticise → deal
Zelenskyy had ruled out ceding any territory, declaring, “There is nothing to talk about – it is our land, the land of the Ukrainian people”.
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it → rule → people
In a post on his social media platform, Trump accused Zelenskyy of stoking tension by “boasting” that Kyiv would not legally recognise ceding Crimea to Russia.
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Kyiv → accuse → Russia
“This statement is very harmful to the Peace Negotiations with Russia,” Trump said, adding that Russia invaded the Crimean Peninsula and annexed it back in 2014 “without a shot being fired”.
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Russia → say → shot
“It’s inflammatory statements like Zelenskyy’s that makes it so difficult to settle this War,” Trump said.
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Trump → ’ → War
“He can have Peace or, he can fight for another three years before losing the whole Country.”
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he → have → Country
Despite the tension, the two leaders held a private meeting at the Vatican on April 26, 2025, during Pope Francis’s funeral.
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leaders → hold → funeral
During their fiery Oval Office meeting, Trump and Vice President JD Vance clashed with Zelenskyy over rare earth mineral agreements, security assurances and peace negotiations with Russia.
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Trump → clash → Russia
Trump warned Zelenskyy, “You’re either going to make a deal [on ending the war with Russia] or we’re out,” and accused the Ukrainian leader of having “disrespected” the United States and “overplayed his hand”.
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we → warn → hand
The US president and Vance also berated Zelenskyy for lacking gratitude and refusing to compromise to end the war, with Trump arguing that Zelenskyy was unready for peace.
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Zelenskyy → berate → peace
The meeting devolved into a shouting match and Zelenskyy departed the White House abruptly.
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Zelenskyy → devolve → House
A month after returning to power for a second term, Trump called the Ukrainian president a “dictator without elections” and accused him of wanting to keep the “gravy train” of US military support going while Washington tries to end the war with Russia.
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Washington → return → Russia
In a lengthy and scathing post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump accused Zelenskyy of taking US money and embroiling the country in an endless conflict.
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Trump → accuse → conflict
He later doubled down on those comments, telling an audience at an investment summit in Miami that Zelenskyy had “done a terrible job, his country is shattered, and millions and millions of people have unnecessarily died”.
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millions → double → people
Zelenskyy better move fast or he’s not going to have a country left.
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country → move → ?
Gotta move fast cause that war’s going in the wrong direction,” Trump said on stage at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) Institute summit.
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Trump → got → summit
“In the meantime, we’re successfully negotiating an end to the war with Russia.
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we → negotiate → Russia
Something I’ll admit that only Trump is going to be able to do and the Trump administration – we’re going to be able to do it.
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we → admit → it
I think Putin even admitted that,” he said.
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he → think → that
“Biden never tried.
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Biden → try → ?
…and 10 more, not listed.
The Aporia
