President Donald Trump speaks with reporters upon arriving at Joint Base Andrews on Sunday night.Donald Trump has been torched online after repeating his demand for Volodymyr Zelenskyy to stop bombing Russian diesel refineries.
The US president said he had told his Ukrainian counterpart to “take it easy” when carrying out their bombing raids.
Trump has previously blamed Ukraine’s tactics for the rise in global diesel prices, despite critics saying that has been caused by the war in Iran.
The president is set to make a major announcement on Monday amid speculation he could ban US diesel exports, a move which business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said would be “a significant concern” for the UK.
Speaking on Sunday, Trump said: “The big problem is the refineries in Russia are being blown up.
“This isn’t really a Middle Eastern problem, this is more of a Russian problem.
“Ukraine and Russia are going at it, and Ukraine is going after diesel refineries in Russia because they do a lot of the refining. So this is an interesting one indeed.
“I spoke to President Zelenskyy. I said ‘you’ve got to take it easy on the refineries’. He said ‘we’ll probably do that’ because they’re causing a world problem. There are other things he could do.”
Trump: “I spoke to President Zelensky. I said, ‘You gotta take it easy on the refineries.’
He said, ‘Well, we’ll probably do that.’” pic.twitter.com/lG9fzVpGkV
His comments led to a wave a criticism on X, with one user saying Trump is “literally a sock puppet of the Kremlin”.
Trump isn’t asking Putin to stop killing Ukrainian children. He’s telling Zelenskyy to stop striking the oil infrastructure that funds Russia’s war and is putting real pressure on Moscow.
Literally a sock puppet of the Kremlin pic.twitter.com/Jue5eg6lPm
The idiot Trump claimed he asked Zelenskyy to halt attacks on the Russian oil refineries belonging to his friend Putin, and that the Ukrainian president supposedly complied with this request.
It is unclear whether this conversation actually took place or if Trump is lying… pic.twitter.com/rjgcELqWLV
Trump
“I told Zelenskyy, ‘you gotta take it easy on the refineries.’ There are other things he can do.”
I hope Zelenskyy told you to go fuck yourself. pic.twitter.com/ltviaWHosL
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy revealed that Russia carried out “a brutal strike” on a high-rise apartment building in Kharkiv as it continues its campaign against Ukraine.
In a post on X, he said: “As of now, dozens of people have been reported injured. The strike on Kharkiv alone resulted in 28 people being injured, including nine children.
“Tragically, lives have been lost. Two people were killed in the Kyiv region, one of them a citizen of Azerbaijan. My condolences to their families and loved ones.
“I thank everyone who is not staying silent about what is happening in Ukraine, and everyone who is preparing concrete support packages for our country. Clear decisions are needed.
“Air defences, energy support, and help covering budget gaps – these are the things that are genuinely strengthening Ukraine today and helping our people endure.”
Russia has been attacking our regions throughout the night and into the morning. In Kharkiv, there was a brutal strike on a high-rise apartment building, with the second and fourth floors partially destroyed. Kyiv has also sustained damage from drone attacks – residential… pic.twitter.com/zQUoq9CDVJ
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) September 28, 2026Listen to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.
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