Summary A series of long-distance Ukrainian drone strikes has targeted Russia’s fuel infrastructure, hitting major processing plants and significantly reducing its refining capacity.
US President Donald Trump has urged his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, to stop targeting Russia’s diesel fuel in aerial attacks, claiming that it is “hurting the world.”
A series of long-distance Ukrainian drone strikes has targeted Russia’s fuel infrastructure, hitting major processing plants and significantly reducing its refining capacity.
“Mr. Zelensky has to do one thing. He has to stop knocking out diesel fuel in Russia. Let him go after targets, but not diesel fuel, because he’s causing a shortage of diesel,” Trump said during an official visit to Ireland on Sunday.
“This isn’t done by the Middle East. This is done by what’s happening with Russia and Ukraine,” he claimed.
His comments come as the ongoing war with Iran, which predominantly involves the United States, Iran and Israel, has caused global energy prices to surge. The crisis has particularly affected traffic through the Strait of Hormuz chokepoint.
Global oil prices rose to $108 this week as fighting in the Middle East raises concerns about prolonged supply disruptions. US diesel prices have hit record highs, topping $6 a gallon Friday for the first time ever.
Russia is the world’s second-largest exporter of diesel, behind the US, according to marine intelligence firm Kpler.
Attacks near Polish border
Meanwhile both Russia and Ukraine are continuing to escalate their air war, with a Russian drone attack overnight into Sunday hitting a gas station in the northwest Ukrainian town of Yahodyn near the country’s border with Poland, Ukrainian authorities said.
Attacks on gas stations have become so common that one Ukrainian network has started installing mesh cages around its facilities in the capital, Kyiv, to reduce the impact zone during strikes.
The latest attack drew swift response from Ukraine. Condemning the actions of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X: “Russia’s barbaric strikes at the Ukraine-Poland border crossing point in Yahodyn are not just a continuation of its attacks on our state borders. This is Putin’s terror ‘knocking’ directly on the doors of the EU and NATO.”
The border crossing was briefly shut but was operating normally again by 10 a.m. local time Sunday.
Yahodyn is one of several Ukrainian-Polish border crossings through which a significant amount of Western military and humanitarian aid is delivered to Ukraine.
