Politics & Diplomacy
Trump urges Zelenskiy to halt strikes on Russian diesel infrastructure
The U.S. president said Ukrainian attacks on Russian diesel infrastructure were contributing to a global shortage as fuel prices remained elevated.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to stop attacks on Russian diesel infrastructure, arguing that the strikes were contributing to a fuel shortage affecting the global economy.
Trump made the remarks while attending the Irish Open golf tournament in Ireland. He said the disruption was “hurting the world,” placing public pressure on Kyiv over a campaign Ukraine says is directed at facilities that support Russia’s war effort.
Ukraine has repeatedly used long-range drones against Russian refineries and other energy assets. Kyiv describes such sites as legitimate military targets because refined fuels supply Russian armed forces and because Moscow continues to strike Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
Russia has reported disruptions to refinery operations and fuel availability after successive Ukrainian attacks. The effect of individual strikes varies, and damaged units can sometimes return to operation after repairs. However, repeated attacks can reduce processing capacity, complicate logistics and force operators to adjust production.
Trump linked the campaign to high diesel prices outside the conflict zone. The national U.S. average had risen above $6 per gallon, according to the reporting available on Sunday. Diesel costs are especially important to freight transport, agriculture and other sectors that rely on heavy vehicles and machinery.
The U.S. president’s intervention highlights a tension between Ukraine’s military objective of reducing Russia’s capacity to sustain the war and wider concern about energy-market consequences. It did not amount to an announced change in U.S. military support, and the available reporting did not include an immediate public response from Zelenskiy.
Moscow has reduced its oil-output forecast and revised expectations for fuel exports through 2027. Those changes reflect a combination of wartime damage, operational constraints and market conditions. The precise contribution of Ukrainian strikes to global diesel prices remains difficult to isolate from other supply disruptions.
Trump’s request was specific to diesel infrastructure. He did not announce a broader agreement with Kyiv on targeting policy, and there was no indication in the initial report that Ukraine had committed to halt its operations.
Further clarity will depend on any response from the Ukrainian government and whether Washington raises the issue through formal bilateral channels.
GasBuddy data cited by Reuters showed the U.S. national diesel average moved above $6 a gallon for the first time on Thursday. Trump said he had already discussed the refinery campaign with Zelenskiy and argued that Ukraine had other targets available. Reuters did not report the date, format or outcome of that conversation.
Russia’s draft government forecast, reviewed by Reuters, lowered the country’s 2026 oil-output expectation to its weakest level in 17 years and revised projected fuel exports for 2026 and 2027. A draft forecast can still change before formal adoption, so its figures should be treated as the government’s working assumptions rather than final production data.