WASHINGTON — September 13, 2026. President Donald Trump is publicly urging Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to stop attacking Russian diesel and oil infrastructure, arguing that the strikes are worsening a global fuel shortage and pushing transportation costs higher.
Ukraine has spent months using long-range drones to strike Russian refineries and other energy facilities. Kyiv says those sites are legitimate military targets because Russia’s petroleum industry generates revenue for the war and supplies fuel used by Russian forces. Moscow, meanwhile, continues attacking Ukraine’s electrical grid, transportation network and energy infrastructure.
The dispute comes as the average price of diesel in the United States has moved above $6 per gallon for the first time. Diesel does not only affect truck drivers. It powers farm machinery, delivery fleets, construction equipment, buses and portions of the rail system. When diesel rises, the cost can eventually appear in grocery aisles, airline operations and nearly every product transported over long distances.
A strategic and economic argument
Trump’s request places Ukraine in a difficult position. Reducing attacks could ease some pressure on fuel markets, but it could also preserve facilities that support Russia’s military. Ukraine has not agreed publicly to stop the campaign.
It is also important not to assign the entire worldwide fuel shortage to Ukraine’s attacks. Disrupted production and shipping in the Middle East are affecting energy markets at the same time. Determining how much each conflict contributes requires supply, refining and transportation data rather than political statements alone.
What is confirmed
Trump made the request, Ukraine has conducted strikes on Russian refineries, and American diesel prices have reached historically high territory. Whether Ukraine will alter its strategy remains unresolved.
Sources: Reuters, September 13, 2026.