President Trump fired back hard at critics who say his new diesel deal with Russia could drag out the war in Ukraine, placing the blame squarely on Volodymyr Zelenskyy instead. Pressed by a reporter on the controversy, Trump insisted Zelenskyy has had plenty of chances to end the war and chose not to take them. He argued Ukraine has been given free rein to strike Russia however it wants, with one exception: refineries. Trump claims those strikes are the real problem, driving up fuel costs for the whole world, including American farmers who depend on affordable diesel.

The comments come as Trump has secured an agreement with Vladimir Putin for hundreds of thousands of tons of Russian diesel, in exchange for temporarily easing sanctions, a deal explicitly tied to Ukraine halting its refinery strikes. Zelenskyy has pushed back hard, calling the arrangement a gift to Putin that only prolongs the fighting rather than ending it. Trump, for his part, is framing the deal as a matter of protecting American consumers and farmers from rising diesel prices, even as critics argue it rewards Moscow at Ukraine's expense. With tensions escalating over the dispute, Trump made clear he expects Zelenskyy to fall in line, warning bluntly that he 'better damn well stop.'