Trump Calls for New Ukraine President Over Oil Strikes

President Donald Trump said it is time for Ukraine to install new leadership, telling reporters, "I think it's time for Ukraine to get a new president," and criticizing Volodymyr Zelenskyy's handling of the war with Russia, according to a video Al Jazeera published Oct. 10, 2026, on its NewsFeed segment.

In the same clip, Trump also pressed Zelenskyy to stop Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries, linking his call for a leadership change to the conduct of the war. The Al Jazeera segment is short and does not include a full transcript of Trump's remarks or identify the setting in which he spoke.

What did Trump say about Zelenskyy?

The core of Trump's comment, as carried by Al Jazeera, is the single line: "I think it's time for Ukraine to get a new president." The network's writeup characterizes the remark as criticism of Zelenskyy and a call for "new leadership in Ukraine," but the published clip does not include additional direct quotes elaborating on what specifically prompted Trump's assessment of Zelenskyy's leadership. No further on-camera explanation from Trump is included in the material Al Jazeera released.

What does Trump want Ukraine to do about Russian oil refineries?

Al Jazeera reports that Trump, in the same appearance, pressed Zelenskyy "to stop hitting Russian oil [r]efineries." That phrasing indicates Ukrainian forces have been striking refinery targets inside Russia, a fact implicit in Trump's demand even though the clip does not specify which refineries, when the strikes occurred, or how many there have been. The network's summary ties the refinery comment directly to Trump's broader criticism of Zelenskyy, but does not explain how Trump believes the two issues are connected beyond placing them in the same remarks.

Has Kyiv responded to Trump's remarks?

The Al Jazeera report does not include a response from Zelenskyy, his office, or any other Ukrainian government official. No statement from Kyiv is quoted or referenced in the source material reviewed for this story. Any reaction from Ukraine's government had not surfaced in the reporting available at publication.

What is not yet known?

Several basic facts about the remarks remain unaddressed in the available reporting:

• The setting in which Trump made the comments — whether at the White House, in an interview, or at another event — is not specified in the Al Jazeera clip.
• Trump did not, in the material reviewed, name a preferred successor to Zelenskyy or describe a mechanism by which Ukraine might change its leadership.
• The clip does not address how an active war with Russia — a war reflected in Trump's own reference to Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries — would factor into any leadership transition in Kyiv.
• No figures, dates, or locations for the refinery strikes Trump referenced are included in the source material.

HTT News will update this report if additional on-the-record detail, a transcript, or a response from Ukrainian officials becomes available.

Timeline: Trump's Oct. 10 remarks on Ukraine

• Oct. 10, 2026 — Al Jazeera publishes a video segment on its NewsFeed program titled "Trump calls for new president in Ukraine," in which Trump says, "I think it's time for Ukraine to get a new president," criticizes Zelenskyy, and presses him to halt Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries.

That single, dated clip is the only confirmed data point available at this writing. No earlier or subsequent statements from Trump, Zelenskyy, or Ukrainian officials addressing the remarks have been published alongside it.

Why the remarks matter

Trump's comments arrive amid an ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, a conflict the Al Jazeera clip references directly through Trump's demand that Ukraine stop striking Russian refineries. A sitting U.S. president publicly calling for a change in another country's leadership is, on its face, a notable diplomatic statement, regardless of the specific war context. The Al Jazeera report frames the comment as criticism of Zelenskyy's performance rather than a formal U.S. policy announcement, and it does not indicate whether the White House has issued a separate, more detailed statement on Ukraine's leadership or on refinery strikes. Readers should treat the remark as reported commentary from a single video source until fuller transcripts, a government statement, or reaction from Kyiv are published.

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