Kremlin claims Trump wants Zelenskyy replaced because he is not making "difficult decisions"

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has claimed that US President Donald Trump has suggested that Ukraine elect a new head of state because President Volodymyr Zelenskyy lacks political will and is not making the decisions needed to end the war.

Source: Russian state news agencies, citing Peskov

Quote: "Trump said that, in his view, the time has come for a new president. Why? Because the Ukrainian president has to make very responsible and very difficult decisions to stop this war. Either Zelenskyy takes on that responsibility and shows that kind of political will, or he does not. So far, he has not."

Background:

• On 9 October, Trump said he had spoken to Putin and agreed on supplies of diesel fuel from Russia.
• On 10 October, Trump said it is time for Ukraine to get a new president who could strike a deal with Russia.
• On 11 October, Trump claimed that Ukraine and Russia had agreed to an immediate energy ceasefire.
• Zelenskyy later said that, following Trump's statement, the Russians had struck CHPP-5 (a combined heat and power plant) in Kharkiv and a power station in Kyiv.

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