Trump presses Zelenskyy to halt strikes on Russian refineries as US diesel tops $6 a gallon

President Donald Trump has urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to stop targeting Russian oil refineries with drone and missile strikes, framing the attacks as a direct contributor to soaring diesel prices in the United States. The request, made publicly on September 13 and reiterated during a phone call on September 20, marks a notable shift in how Washington is weighing Kyiv’s military strategy against domestic economic pain. US diesel prices crossed $6 per gallon around mid-September, a record that has turned fuel costs into a political liability for the Trump administration. Rather than attributing the spike primarily to the ongoing US-Iran conflict, Trump pointed to Ukraine’s campaign against Russian energy infrastructure as the bigger culprit. A phone call, then a refinery goes dark The September 20 conversation between the two leaders reportedly centered on de-escalation of strikes against Russian energy targets, with diesel supply mentioned multiple times. The two presidents agreed to meet on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. On the same day as the phone call, Ukrainian drones struck the Moscow Oil Refinery, forcing a complete shutdown of operations at the ...