US-Ukraine relations sour as Trump, Zelenskyy clash over talks, arms

Trump calls for Zelenskyy to be replaced as negotiator, while Ukraine’s president says arms shipments delayed.United States President Donald Trump says someone other than Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy should negotiate on Kyiv’s behalf in talks to end Russia’s war.“Zelenskyy is a man that should have had settled this war a long time ago. If he would’ve listened to me, he would have made a much better deal a long time ago,” Trump told reporters outside the White House on Monday. “Maybe it’s time for Zelenskyy to get somebody else to negotiate.”Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Russia’s war on Ukraine ‘must be brought to an end’, Zelenskyy sayslist 2 of 3Rubio says there was no US pause in intelligence sharing with Ukrainelist 3 of 3Children among six killed in Russian drone strike on Ukraine parkend of listThe US president has been verbally swiping at his Ukrainian counterpart for several days as a rift between the leaders deepens.On Sunday, Trump claimed on Truth Social that Zelenskyy does not want to end the war. Earlier this month, he called for him to be replaced as president, and labelled him a “warmonger” over Ukraine’s attacks on Russian oil refineries.Trump has also defended Russia" class="entity-link entity-topic" data-entity-id="220077" data-entity-type="topic">sanctions waivers for Russia, saying in the same Truth Social post that he wants to keep Moscow at the negotiating table.Zelenskyy said the decision “will hurt Ukraine” and strengthen Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war effort.Trump also announced plans on October 9 for Russia to supply more than 300,000 metric tonnes of diesel to US and global markets to tackle fuel prices that have soared since the US and Israel launched a war on Iran in late February.The decision has angered not only Kyiv, but also European partners and US officials, who say it rewards Moscow while it continues its four-and-a-half-year war on Ukraine.Zelenskyy told US senators at a meeting on Monday that decisions taken by the Trump administration “are hard to explain between friends”.