Dmitry Peskov
Role at the time: Press secretary to Russian President Vladimir Putin
Statement summary
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told RIA Novosti that Trump believes it is time for a new Ukrainian president because Zelenskyy has not taken on the difficult decisions needed to stop the war.
“Trump said that he believes the time has come for a new president. Why? Because the president of Ukraine 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. (Translated from Russian. Original: Трамп сказал, что он считает, что пришло время для нового президента. Почему? Потому что президент Украины должен принять очень ответственные и очень сложные решения для остановки этой войны. Или Зеленский берет на себя такую ответственность, проявляет такую политическую волю, или он этого не делает. Пока он этого не делает)”
Russian-language report by Sputnik Kazakhstan, a Russian state media outlet, relaying remarks Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov made to RIA Novosti on October 12, 2026.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Why we used this label
The reference point is President Trump's October 10, 2026 call for Ukraine to get a new president. Peskov explains the call and backs its reasoning. After saying Trump believes it is time for a new president, he asks why and answers that the Ukrainian president has to make very difficult decisions to stop the war, then gives his own verdict that so far Zelenskyy has not. Supplying the reason for the call and saying Zelenskyy fails that test argues the call is justified, which goes beyond reporting what Trump said, so we labeled it as defending the call.