Trump is urging Ukraine to cease its attacks on Russian oil refineries, warning that the strikes are driving up diesel prices around the world.
The president made the remarks Sunday while visiting his golf course in Ireland during the Irish Open, responding to a reporter’s question about his contact with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Trump confirmed he had spoken to Zelensky directly about the issue, framing the refinery strikes as a problem for global energy markets, not just a regional military matter.
“Mr. Zelenskyy has to do one thing,” Trump said. “He has to stop knocking out diesel fuel in Russia. We spoke to Mr. Zelenskyy about it. There are plenty of other targets. Don’t hit diesel fuel, because that’s hurting, that’s hurting the world.”
Trump said diesel prices were climbing because “it’s having a hard time coming out of Russia,” adding, “And if that’s the case, that hurts the world.”
Hours before Trump’s comments, Ukraine’s military announced it had struck the TANECO refinery in the city of Nizhnekamsk in Russia’s Tatarstan republic, carried out alongside the Security Service of Ukraine and the Main Intelligence Directorate.
Tatarstan officials confirmed two civilians were killed and others wounded in the overnight attack, which followed earlier Ukrainian strikes on a refinery in Siberia on Thursday.
One of Thursday’s attacks targeted Nizhnekamsk, home to several key oil refineries, while another drone strike hit a refinery in Slavyansk-on-Kuban in Russia’s Krasnodar region near Crimea.
Ukraine has now conducted more than 60 strikes on at least 24 Russian refineries, aiming to raise the economic cost of the war for Moscow and erode domestic support for the conflict.
Russia, the world’s second largest diesel exporter behind the United States, has extended its ban on diesel exports through the end of September amid fuel shortages and long queues reported in Russian cities.
Global energy markets are also facing pressure from the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, which led Tehran to limit passage through the Strait of Hormuz, where roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil supply is exported.
The combined disruptions to diesel supplies have sent fuel prices surging, raising concern among U.S. consumers and adding political weight to the issue ahead of November’s midterm elections.
Zelensky has defended Ukraine’s strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, saying the industry finances and supplies Moscow’s military operations inside Ukraine.
“If they cause us blackouts, we will try to respond to them in kind,” Zelensky said, referencing Russia’s escalating attacks on Ukraine’s power grid using ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones ahead of winter.
Trump, who pledged during his campaign to end the Russia-Ukraine war within 24 hours, has so far been unable to broker a deal, with the conflict remaining a bitter stalemate well into 2026.
