President Donald Trump, speaking from his Doonbeg golf course in Ireland, publicly called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to stop attacking Russian oil refineries. Trump stated, "Mr. Zelenskyy has to do one thing: He has to stop knocking out diesel fuel in Russia," asserting that these strikes were the cause of surging global diesel prices. He suggested that Ukraine should pursue other targets instead.
Diesel prices in the U.S. reached a record average of $6.06 per gallon on Friday, a significant increase from $3.71 per gallon a year prior. This surge in price has a substantial impact on transportation costs, affecting the prices of goods. The International Energy Agency has noted that disruptions to Russia's refining system and a near-halt to its product exports due to Ukrainian attacks have compounded these losses.
Trump dismissed the notion that his administration's conflict with Iran, which began over six months ago and has disrupted oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, was responsible for the fuel shortfall. He insisted, "This isn’t done by the Middle East. This is done by what’s happening with Russia and Ukraine." This stance contradicts some analyses, including one from Al Jazeera, which indicated that crude oil prices crossed the $100 per barrel mark last week for the first time since July, with Brent crude reaching as high as $109, partly due to the U.S.-Israel war with Iran.
Other U.S. officials, including Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, have also attributed the challenging diesel situation to Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries. However, a senior European official suggested that the Trump administration might be seeking scapegoats ahead of the November midterm elections, noting that Russian diesel and oil exports have not been significant for U.S. consumption. The official added that an energy ceasefire would need to be mutual, implying Russia should also halt attacks on Ukraine's energy grid.
Ukraine views its long-range strikes on Russian energy infrastructure as a strategic move to make Russia's four-year full-scale invasion prohibitively costly. In response, Russia has escalated its air campaign against Ukraine, targeting its power grid ahead of winter. Recent exchanges of drone strikes resulted in two civilian deaths and 14 injuries near an oil and industrial hub in Russia's Tatarstan, while Ukraine reported nine injuries in Odesa and claimed to have hit a major oil refinery in Slavyansk-on-Kuban.
