Ukraine has targeted a major Russian oil refinery just one day after Donald Trump desperately urged Kyiv to stop attacking Russia’s energy facilities.
The Kuibyshev oil refinery in Samara, one of the largest in the Volga region, was bombarded with drone strikes on Monday, Meduza reported. The Ukrainian military also claimed to have hit a Bashneft-UNP oil refinery in Bashkortostan during the overnight attacks.
Both facilities produce millions of tonnes of oil per year, as well as diesel and gas. The refineries are also crucial to Moscow’s economy and help fuel Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, which has now dragged on for more than four and a half years.
Ukraine resumed its drone attacks on Russia’s oil refineries one day after Trump was reported to have called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and asked for help easing the global oil crisis, which Trump has helped exacerbate with his war in Iran.
Sources told the Financial Times that Trump called Zelensky to talk about “diesel, diesel . . . diesel” while urging him to halt the drone bombardments against Russia’s oil refineries.
The plea arrived after Ukraine carried out a large-scale assault on Russian oil refineries around Moscow on Sunday, in what is believed to be Kyiv’s largest single attack on Russia since the invasion began in February 2022.
Zelensky is said to have told Trump during the call that Kyiv would be willing to observe a ceasefire on attacks against Russia’s oil refineries, but only if Russia promised to do the same.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, combined with the Middle East conflict and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, has helped send gas prices soaring in the U.S., with the average cost of diesel hitting another all-time high of $6.52 on Tuesday.
The record diesel price is about 70 percent higher than the price recorded before the Iran war broke out on Feb. 28 and nearly $3 more than the average one year ago.
However, Trump is refusing to take any blame for the spiraling costs, which could doom the GOP in the midterms, and is instead pointing the finger at Ukraine’s attempts to fight off Russia’s invasion.
“Russia has unfortunately lost control of its Diesel Oil Industry due to its War with Ukraine. A large number of their Diesel refineries have been blown up and are, at least temporarily, out of commission,” Trump posted on Truth Social on Monday morning.
“This ridiculous and never ending War with Ukraine must be ended. The whole World suffers as 25,000 people, mostly soldiers, are being killed each month. What a shame!”
Trump made a similar plea for Ukraine to stop attacking Russia’s oil refineries during his trip to Ireland this month.
“Let him go after targets, but not diesel fuel, because he’s causing a shortage of diesel,” Trump said. “This isn’t done by the Middle East. This is done by what’s happening with Russia and Ukraine.”
Zelensky and Trump will meet at the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, where the pair will discuss potential “de-escalation steps” to try to end the war.
“Ukraine’s energy sector, critical infrastructure, and our food exports must stop being targets for Russia, and this will lead to matching de-escalation steps on our part. Solutions are possible,” Zelensky posted on X. “We are ready to work on this, and we will discuss it with our partners on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York.”
Zelensky also met with U.S. senators Monday to thank them for their “strong bipartisan support” for Ukraine amid the invasion.
