(Dave DeCamp, Antiwar.com) President Donald Trump on Sunday called on Ukraine to stop targeting Russia’s “diesel fuel,” saying the attacks are causing shortages, though Ukraine’s drone attacks on Russian energy infrastructure are known to be supported by US intelligence.
“Mr. Zelensky has to do one thing: He has to stop knocking out diesel fuel in Russia,” Trump told reporters during a visit to Ireland, according to Reuters. “We spoke to Mr. Zelensky about it. There are plenty of other targets. Don’t hit diesel fuel. That’s hurting the world.”
The US began supporting Ukraine’s long-range drone attacks on Russian energy infrastructure last year, according to reporting at the time, and the Financial Times reported in July 2026 that US intelligence was helping Ukraine bypass air defenses to strike Russian oil refineries.
It’s unclear if the US is actually asking Ukraine to refrain from further strikes on Russian energy sites and withholding intelligence for the attacks. Trump appeared to be attempting to shift some of the blame for the global energy crisis caused by his war with Iran, saying the diesel shortage “isn’t done by the Middle East, this is done by what’s happening with Russia and Ukraine.”
The Trump administration is also attempting to restart peace talks, with President Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, recently visiting Moscow and Kyiv, though Russia and Ukraine continue to trade heavy attacks.
On Sunday, Ukrainian authorities accused Russia of targeting a train near the border of Poland that was traveling behind a separate train carrying former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. In a statement on its attacks in Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry said that its forces launched “strikes on railway infrastructure facilities in Ukraine’s western region that are used to transport military cargoes from Europe.”
This article originally appeared at Antiwar.com.
