Trump Asks Zelensky Not to Strike Russian Fuel Production

Donald Trump said he had warned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to stop striking oil refineries in Russia.

He said this to reporters during a visit to the Amgen Irish Open golf tournament.

A reporter asked Trump whether he had spoken with Zelensky after his recent conversation with Vladimir Putin. In response, he called on the Ukrainian president to stop striking Russia’s fuel industry.

The U.S. president explained that the attacks had disrupted diesel fuel refining and were contributing to higher prices.

“Mr. Zelensky has one thing to do: He has to stop knocking out the diesel fuel in Russia … Let him hit other targets — but not the diesel fuel facilities, because that’s causing a shortage,” Trump said Sunday on the sidelines of the Amgen Irish Open.

According to Bloomberg, the average price of diesel fuel in the United States exceeded $6 per gallon for the first time due to supply shortages.

Trump’s statements came as Ukraine hit oil refineries in southern Russia and in Tatarstan.

According to the IEA, disruptions to Russian refinery operations and an actual reduction in exports coincided with a supply crisis in the Persian Gulf, deepening the shortage and driving up prices.

In August, combined net exports of diesel fuel and oil from Russia and the Persian Gulf countries were 1.6 million barrels per day lower than in February.