US President Donald Trump has urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to halt attacks on Russia’s diesel fuel infrastructure, arguing that Kyiv’s campaign against Moscow’s energy sector is contributing to a global shortage as his war against Iran disrupts international fuel supplies.
The intervention marks an attempt by Trump to constrain Ukraine’s attacks on Russian energy infrastructure at a time when global fuel markets are already facing severe supply disruptions linked to the US conflict with Iran.
“Mr. Zelensky has to do one thing. He has to stop knocking out diesel fuel in Russia,” Trump said on September 13. “Let him go after targets, but not diesel fuel, because he’s causing a shortage of diesel.”
“We spoke to Mr. Zelensky about it… This isn’t done by the Middle East.”
Trump’s comments put growing pressure on Kyiv to limit a campaign that has increasingly targeted Russia’s oil industry and fuel infrastructure. Ukraine has used long-range drone strikes against refineries, storage facilities and other energy assets as part of efforts to reduce Moscow’s oil revenues and disrupt the fuel supplies supporting its war effort.
The remarks also reflect the increasingly direct connection between the war in Ukraine and the wider disruption to global energy markets.
Trump’s war against Iran has knocked out more than 20% of Middle Eastern refining capacity and effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a critical energy route that previously carried roughly a fifth of global oil supplies.
The resulting disruption has intensified competition for refined fuels, with diesel among the products facing heightened pressure as refiners and traders attempt to compensate for lost Middle Eastern supply.
For Kyiv, however, Russian oil infrastructure remains a central component of the war economy. Ukraine has argued that strikes on refineries and fuel facilities can constrain Moscow’s ability to finance and sustain its military operations.
Ukrainian forces continued that campaign on September 13, striking oil refineries in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai and the Republic of Tatarstan, according to Ukraine’s General Staff.
The attacks underline the tension between Ukraine’s military strategy and Washington’s growing concern over the economic consequences of the conflict.
Trump’s demand that Zelensky avoid Russian diesel infrastructure could therefore complicate Kyiv’s efforts to weaken Moscow’s energy revenues, particularly as the US president attempts to contain the effects of the Iran war on global fuel markets.
The dispute also illustrates how Russia’s energy infrastructure has become increasingly intertwined with global supply concerns. For Kyiv, Russian refineries and fuel depots are legitimate economic and military targets; for Washington, attacks on diesel production risk adding pressure to an already disrupted international market.
As the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East increasingly overlap through energy markets, decisions over which infrastructure can be targeted are becoming as much an economic question as a military one.
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