Andy Burnham has expressed solidarity with the Ukrainian leader after the US president stated he should be replaced<\/p>\n
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has rushed to reassure Ukraine\u2019s Vladimir Zelensky after US President Donald Trump publicly called for his replacement. The American leader accused Zelensky of refusing to reach a peace deal with Moscow and worsening the global fuel crisis through continued Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy infrastructure.
\nBurnham called Zelensky on Saturday, the same day Trump suggested that the Ukrainian leader should be replaced for refusing to reach a settlement with Moscow.\u00a0The British prime minister described the previous 24 hours as having been \u201cdifficult for Ukraine\u201d and \u201creiterated his complete solidarity,\u201d according to Downing Street.
\nBurnham and Zelensky also discussed \u201cthe importance of maintaining pressure on Russia,\u201d with London vowing to slap Moscow with additional sanctions.
\nEarlier on Saturday, Trump accused Zelensky of seeking to \u201cmake problems for the world\u201d through the continued attacks on the Russian energy infrastructure, including refineries. \u201cI suggest they get a new leader who can make a deal,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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Zelensky should be ousted \u2013\u00a0Trump (VIDEO)<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s remarks \u201cshocked\u201d Kiev, according to German reporter Paul Ronzheimer. \u201cWe never expected this,\u201d a close adviser to Zelensky told the journalist, adding that Kiev feared Washington could suspend intelligence-sharing with it.
\nOn Friday, Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin reached an agreement aimed at reining in skyrocketing global fuel prices. Washington temporarily waived sanctions on Russian diesel, while Moscow agreed to release 300,000 metric tons of diesel immediately and another 500,000 in November. Zelensky blasted Trump\u2019s decision as \u201cweak.\u201d
\nKiev\u2019s European backers have repeatedly rushed to Zelensky\u2019s defense following public criticism from Trump.
\nIn February 2025, after Trump branded Zelensky a \u201cdictator without elections\u201d and slammed him for unwillingness to reach a deal with Moscow, then-British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and several European leaders, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron, publicly defended the Ukrainian leader and criticized Trump\u2019s choice of words.
\nLater that month, a White House meeting between Trump and Zelensky descended into a scandal, with the US president accusing his guest of gambling with millions of lives and risking World War III. European leaders, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, Macron and Starmer, quickly rallied behind Zelensky, reaffirming their support for Kiev.<\/p>\n
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Zelensky lashes out at Ukraine\u2019s Western backers<\/p>\n
Despite the repeated vows of solidarity, the bloc is increasingly struggling to satisfy Kiev\u2019s continued demands for financial assistance. In late September, the EU rejected Kiev\u2019s request for a \u20ac220 million ($250 million) farmer subsidy to offset the fallout from the Ukrainian Black Sea maritime trade disruptions linked to Russian strikes on the Ukrainian logistics in response to Zelensky\u2019s 40-day PR pressure campaign of strikes on Russian territory.
\nIn early October, the bloc similarly rejected Ukraine\u2019s plea to accelerate financial support needed to cover an unexpected $27 billion defense gap, prompting Zelensky to lash out at Kiev\u2019s backers by accusing them of not doing enough for Ukraine.
\nRussia has previously repeatedly named the position of Kiev\u2019s European backers as one of the main obstacles to settling the conflict. The EU is still clinging to the idea of \u201cstrategically defeating Russia,\u201d Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said last month.
\nCommenting on the situation last week, Peskov also said that neither Ukraine nor its European backers had moved any closer towards talks, with European nations still \u201cobstructing\u201d the peace process.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Andy Burnham has expressed solidarity with the Ukrainian leader after the US president stated he should be replaced UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has rushed to reassure Ukraine\u2019s Vladimir Zelensky…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39732,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t