US President Donald Trump has said that Russia and Ukraine have agreed not to target each other’s energy facilities, a day after he criticized Kyiv for hitting Russian oil refineries.
“Ukraine has agreed not to hit Russian Energy targets. Russia has agreed to do, likewise!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
“The World's Diesel price rise is mostly caused by the Russia/Ukraine War, not Iran.”
The president’s comments came as global oil prices continue to surge amid the war in the Middle East. The conflict has increased inflation and fuel prices in the United States just two months before its midterm elections.
In comments following Trump’s post, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv was ready to stop strikes on Russia if Ukraine's allies ensured that Moscow would cease hitting Ukrainian energy facilities, infrastructure, and food supply routes.
“The war must be brought to an end. And a de-escalatory step regarding critical infrastructure could be the first step toward peace. We expect specifics from our partners,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X.
The Kremlin welcomed Trump’s call for Ukraine to stop striking Russian energy infrastructure. But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not say if Moscow would reciprocate.
Russian forces, Peskov said, will continue operating across Ukraine.
On September 13, Trump called on Zelenskyy to stop targeting Russian diesel infrastructure amid Russia's relentless attacks across Ukraine, including near the Polish border.
"There are plenty of other targets. Don't hit diesel fuel," Trump told reporters during his visit to Ireland. "You have to stop knocking out diesel fuel in Russia," he said.
Those comments came a week after his envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, had visited Kyiv and Moscow in the latest US-mediated diplomatic effort to bring the wartime capitals closer to a negotiated agreement.
While all sides have called the talks "substantial," the dynamics on the front line have not changed, with Russia continuing to attack Ukraine and hitting its civilian, logistics, and energy infrastructure as the cold weather sets in.
Ukraine, meanwhile, has continued to respond, targeting energy and military sites inside Russia with its long-range drone attacks. Kyiv has been calling the effort "long-range sanctions" as it seeks to curb Moscow's energy profits and force it to negotiate.
Since the beginning of the summer, Ukrainian drone strikes have caused nationwide fuel shortages in Russia and stoked discontent among its citizens, who felt far removed from the war in Ukraine, now in its fifth year.
