Zelensky Responds to Trump: Only Ukrainians Choose Their President

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized in an interview aired on Sunday by ABC television that it is the Ukrainian people themselves who must choose their officials, in response to US President Donald Trump's call for a change of president in Kyiv.

Zelensky said: "With all respect to President Trump, it is the right of our society, our people, to choose this or that official," reiterating his call for a 60-day ceasefire with Russia, which he believes would allow elections to be held, according to AFP.

The US president's attack on his Ukrainian counterpart was not merely a passing disagreement over the war in Ukraine. After Trump announced a surprise agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin allowing Moscow to supply quantities of diesel to the American and global markets in exchange for a temporary suspension of sanctions imposed on this sector, Zelensky criticized the deal as a "weak decision" that gives Russia a source of funding for its ongoing war since 2022.

Hours later, Trump escalated his rhetoric, stating that it is time for Ukraine to have a "new president," in one of the most direct statements he has made against his former ally in managing the war effort.