Trump told reporters Saturday that Russian President Vladimir Putin “would like to see a settlement” of the war with Ukraine, recounting a phone call between the two on Friday. Trump accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of resisting a compromise, said Zelensky “disobeyed” US orders not to strike Russian refineries, and argued Ukraine should hold an election, which has not happened since Russia’s 2022 invasion. The exchange escalated a war of words after Zelensky called Trump’s diesel deal with Moscow a “weak decision.”
Trump says Putin wants Ukraine settlement, urges Zelensky elections
Trump said Saturday that Putin told him on a Friday phone call that Russia wants a settlement in Ukraine, while accusing Zelensky of resisting a deal and saying Ukraine should hold elections.
Why it matters: The remarks harden the rift opened by the US-Russia diesel arrangement, with Trump openly pressing for elections in Kyiv while crediting Moscow with wanting peace.
Data as of Saturday night, October 10, 2026: Trump's remarks via Arab News (opened and read in full); the election call corroborated by ERT and RIA (translated, cited from feed metadata). Trump's account of Putin's position and his characterization of Zelensky's stance are presented as the US president's claims, not independently verified.
Sources
- Trump says Putin 'would like to see a settlement' in Ukraine war · Arab News · 2026-10-11
- Τραμπ κατά Ζελένσκι: «Ήρθε η ώρα η Ουκρανία να αποκτήσει νέο πρόεδρο» (Trump on Zelensky: 'The time has come for Ukraine to get a new president') · ERT (Greek), translated · 2026-10-10
- Трамп заявил о необходимости проведения выборов на Украине (Trump called for elections in Ukraine) · RIA Novosti (Russian), translated · 2026-10-10