Trump Urges Zelensky to Halt Strikes on Russian Diesel
The US president says Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries have driven up global fuel prices, but Kyiv insists the sites are legitimate military targets
President Donald Trump has called on President Volodymyr Zelensky to halt Ukrainian strikes on Russian diesel infrastructure, arguing that the attacks have caused a fuel shortage that is hurting the world. A wave of long-distance drone attacks on Russian oil refineries in recent months has cut that country's fuel production and triggered petrol shortages across Russia. Ukraine, which faces regular Russian attacks on its own energy infrastructure, maintains that refineries are legitimate military targets.
The US national average price of diesel, used by trucks, trains, ships and farm equipment, rose above $6 a gallon for the first time on Thursday, according to the price tracker GasBuddy. Speaking to journalists during a visit to the Irish Open, held on a golf course in the west of Ireland owned by his family, Trump said: "Mr. Zelensky has to do one thing: He has to stop knocking out diesel fuel in Russia." He added that the matter had been raised with Zelensky directly. "There are plenty of other targets. Don't hit diesel fuel. That's hurting the world," he said. The global shortage, Trump went on, "isn't done by the Middle East, this is done by what's happening with Russia and Ukraine."
Russia has downgraded its oil output forecast for this year to a 17-year low and revised its fuel export outlook for 2026 and 2027 because of the war, according to a government draft forecast seen by Reuters.
Trump's intervention sits awkwardly beside the reality of the conflict. Moscow's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has seen Russian forces systematically target Ukrainian power stations, railways and ports, leaving millions without reliable heat and electricity. Ukraine's strikes on refineries deep inside Russia are one of the few levers it holds to raise the economic cost of the Kremlin's aggression, and Western analysts have generally treated them as lawful attacks on military-industrial targets. The World House, which has consistently stood with Ukraine since the full-scale invasion began, provides further information on its support initiatives at worldhouse.uk/support.