TRUMP AGAIN TELLS UKRAINE TO EASE STRIKES ON RUSSIAN REFINERIES
President Donald Trump has again confirmed that he pressured President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to reduce Ukraine’s attacks on Russian oil refineries.
“I told Zelensky, ‘You gotta take it easy on the refineries,’” Trump said. “There are other things he can do.”
Trump has repeatedly blamed Ukrainian strikes for much of the global diesel shortage, previously arguing that the problem was not being driven by the Middle East but by the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Ukrainian attacks have undeniably reduced Russian refining capacity and contributed to tighter diesel supplies. That is precisely why the campaign has been effective: Russia’s refineries produce fuel for its military, support the economy financing the invasion and generate petroleum products for export.
But Ukraine is not the sole—or even the original—cause of the global energy crisis. The war involving Iran, disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea, attacks on regional energy infrastructure, limited refining capacity and historically low fuel reserves have all placed enormous pressure on global markets.
Once again, the immediate demand is being directed at Ukraine rather than the country that invaded it. Russia has spent years striking Ukraine’s power plants, substations, fuel facilities and heating infrastructure in an attempt to leave Ukrainian civilians without electricity or warmth.
Ukraine has offered a reciprocal arrangement: it will pause attacks on Russian energy infrastructure if Russia verifiably stops attacking Ukraine’s critical infrastructure. What Kyiv cannot reasonably be expected to do is surrender one of its most effective forms of pressure while Moscow continues bombing Ukrainian cities.
Telling Ukraine to choose “other targets” sounds simple from Washington. For Ukraine, the question is much harder: why should it protect the fuel infrastructure helping Russia finance and sustain the war being fought against it?