ZELENSKYY: UKRAINE IS LEAVING US-BOUND RUSSIAN DIESEL SHIPMENTS UNTOUCHED
Ukraine is not attacking vessels carrying Russian diesel to the United States, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told journalists, explaining that their connection to America is why they are being left untouched.
At the same time, he made clear that Ukrainian forces have received no order to stop responding to Russian attacks. Although they have acted “a little more carefully” in recent days, Ukraine continues operations against targets inside Russia.
Zelenskyy cited the Ryazan oil refinery, data centers and locations where Russian ballistic weapons are concentrated. He said Ukraine expects its responses to Russia’s damaging strikes to be felt.
The remarks come as Russian diesel heads toward the American market under the agreement Donald Trump announced with Vladimir Putin on October 9. Reuters reported that the Malta-flagged tanker Agioi Fanendes loaded 40,000 metric tons at Russia’s Primorsk port on October 22 and was heading for New York, with arrival estimated for November 7.
That creates a difficult political reality for Kyiv: Ukraine is leaving these US-bound shipments untouched while trying to maintain pressure on the Russian infrastructure sustaining Moscow’s war.
The distinction in Zelenskyy’s statement matters. Restraint toward those vessels is not a promise to leave Russia’s refineries or military targets untouched. Ukraine is still asserting its right to respond while Russian attacks continue.
