US President Donald Trump visits Trump International Golf Links and Hotel in Doonbeg, Ireland, September 13, 2026 [Neil Hall/EPA]By Al Jazeera Staff, AP and ReutersPublished On 13 Sep 202613 Sep 2026
United States President Donald Trump has urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to halt strikes on Russian diesel infrastructure, saying they were to blame for a global fuel shortage that was driving up prices, and not the war with Iran.
“Mr. Zelenskyy has to do one thing: he has to stop knocking out diesel fuel in Russia,” Trump said on Sunday, speaking to reporters during a trip to the Republic of Ireland. “We spoke to Mr Zelenskyy about it. There are plenty of other targets. Don’t hit diesel fuel. That’s hurting the world.”
A wave of long-distance Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian oil refineries in recent months has reduced that country’s fuel production, triggering petrol shortages across the country.
Ukraine, which faces regular Russian attacks on its own energy infrastructure, says refineries are legitimate military targets. Kyiv says Russia’s oil industry both funds and directly fuels Moscow’s more-than-four-year-old invasion of its neighbour.
Fuel prices are weighing on Americans as they prepare to vote in midterm US elections in November.
The price of diesel hit an all-time high in the US on Friday, reaching a national average of $6.06 a gallon ($1.60 per litre) according to the American Automobile Association (AAA), which tracks daily prices. The price of diesel a year ago, according to AAA, was $3.71 a gallon ($0.98 per litre).
The fuel has a significant impact on the cost of transportation, and is used by ships, trains, and trucks to move international goods, many of which are now more expensive, as those costs are passed on to consumers.
On Sunday, Trump said the increase in the price of diesel “isn’t done by the Middle East, this is done by what’s happening with Russia and Ukraine”.
Oil prices globally have gone up since the US and Israel launched a war on Iran in February, disrupting the flow of oil from the region, including through the Strait of Hormuz, and causing a global energy crisis. Around one-fifth of the world’s oil passes through the strait in peacetime.
Crude oil prices crossed the $100-per-barrel mark last week for the first time since July. Brent crude, the global benchmark, climbed as high as $109 at one point.
The war in Ukraine is, along with the Iran conflict, having an impact on diesel prices too, according to the International Energy Agency.
A monthly report from the agency published on September 11 said the war between the US and Iran was hampering efforts to normalise flow through the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, but the Russia-Ukraine conflict also was having an influence, particularly on diesel supplies.
“The disruptions to Russia’s refining system and a near-halt to product exports following intensified Ukrainian attacks have compounded these losses,” the agency said.
