Trump calls for Zelensky to be replaced

Alex Ritson (0:00)

This is The Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Alex Ritson, and in the early hours of Sunday, October the 11th, these are our main stories. Donald Trump calls for a new leader in Ukraine after President Zelensky criticises his US counterpart's decision to buy Russian diesel. A hurricane batters the southern United States. Another one is on its way to Mexico. And the Indian authorities stop a demonstration and detain protestors, calling for the resignation of the head of the election commission.

Also in this podcast…

SPEAKER_2 (0:41)

I may have information regarding this case. I recall seeing someone matching the description in the area. Please contact me if this information is relevant.

Alex Ritson (0:50)

A tip for the police from an AI agent about an unsolved murder. But, was it helpful?

A major diplomatic row has erupted between the United States and Ukraine, in which Mr Trump has lashed out at his Ukrainian counterpart, calling for him to be replaced. It started on Friday when Donald Trump said he had agreed a deal with Russia's President Vladimir Putin to allow Moscow to sell diesel to the US and other countries. This was an extraordinary about-face. Only a few weeks ago Mr Trump's administration was threatening to sanction anyone who bought Russian energy, purchases that help fund Moscow's war against Ukraine. That was a point not lost on Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky.

SPEAKER_3 (1:44)

All that money goes towards the war against people, against Ukraine, against all of us.

In my view, this is a weak decision. Unfortunately, a weak decision by strong partners.

Alex Ritson (1:57)

That comment perhaps led to an equally furious reaction from President Trump, who accused Mr Zelensky of prolonging the war. He also warned the Ukrainian leader not to bomb Russian oil refineries.

SPEAKER_4 (2:10)

And I said to him, do what you want, don't hit refineries. There's plenty of targets, don't hit refineries. And he went out and he hit. And he's not going to affect our farmers, and he's not going to affect our ranches, and he's not going to affect the rest of the world. So he better damn well stop.

Alex Ritson (2:27)

So how significant are these latest comments from President Trump about Mr Zelensky, a pair who have argued before? Here's our World Affairs correspondent, Joe Inwood.

Joe Inwood (2:38)

People will remember the famous bust up in the Oval Office. We are not at that level in terms of hostility.

And he has, of course, said things in the past, talking about how President Zelensky is not legitimate. I think so in the sort of the pantheon of presidential bust ups. This is this is not the most severe. But I think what is important about it is it comes after a period in which their relationship really seemed to have been improving. And also this is one where it comes in the middle of a diplomatic shift or a policy shift in the United States, which is really, really important.

It's worth reminding listeners that the policy of the United States, as all other countries has been, is to try and sort of squeeze Russian oil and gas to stop them using that as a revenue generating source. This row comes at the end of a day, which has seen the United States not just abandon that, but reverse it and say it is going to be giving huge amounts of money potentially to Russia, which will have a direct battlefield consequence. So it's not just that it's a diplomatic row, but it's a diplomatic row with potential real world consequences for Ukraine.

Alex Ritson (3:40)

So how is Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, likely to react to this?

Joe Inwood (3:46)

I mean, we haven't had an official reaction at this point. We know he's spoken to allies. Andy Burnham, the British prime minister, has said he stands in solidarity. I mean, I think what we've seen from president Zelensky so far is always an attempt to dial these things down. He sounded, when I listened to that interview with him this morning, you could hear in his voice the one in which he said, it's a weak action by a strong partner. He sounded really, really angry. Now obviously, we don't know what was going through his mind. But you wonder if some of his reaction, which was done in Ukrainian, but will have been relayed to President Trump. You wonder if some of that was said in anger and he might try and row it back. There will be an attempt, as we've seen often, with European allies and the Ukrainians to try and dial this stuff down. Because they know that if this row with President Trump, with the Americans, really escalates, the Americans have got a lot of really significant levers they could pull. They're not giving a huge amount of, they're not giving any money and equipment anymore. But they do still allow the sharing of intelligence, satellite data.