Trump tells Kyiv to stop hitting Russian refineries as diesel sets a record
The president says Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy are raising fuel prices and hurting the world economy.
Assembled by Claude from 10 sources at 10 outlets · Monday, September 14, 2026, Morning edition, 10:23 AM EDT · no human byline
What happened
President Trump on Sunday called on Ukraine to stop striking Russian refineries, after Kyiv struck several over the weekend, saying the attacks were increasing the price of diesel and 'hurting the world' semafor.com. The Hill reported that he urged Ukraine to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries, warning that rising diesel prices hurt the global economy thehill.com.
The Washington Post reported the appeal as directed at President Volodymyr Zelensky and at Russian energy targets washingtonpost.com. RFE/RL and The Washington Times carried the same demand rferl.orgwashingtontimes.com. NV reported Trump saying Ukraine should stop hitting Russia's energy sector because it is causing diesel shortages english.nv.ua.
Why it matters to investors
Diesel prices have hit a record $6.20 amid the US-Iran war and Hormuz disruption foxbusiness.com. Fox Business described the fuel that powers trucks, farms and freight trains as now threatening to raise costs across the entire US supply chain foxbusiness.com. That is the link between a battlefield decision and a domestic price level, and it is why the White House is treating Ukrainian targeting as an economic question rather than only a military one thehill.comsemafor.com.
Time asked what a halt to refinery strikes would mean for the war itself time.com. Ukraine's most effective long-range campaign and Washington's inflation problem now point in opposite directions english.nv.uafoxbusiness.com.
What to watch
The demand arrives inside an active diplomatic track. Trump's comment came a week after his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited Kyiv and Moscow in the latest US-mediated effort rferl.org. On Sept. 5 the envoys met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia, and the next day they were in Kyiv english.nv.ua. Witkoff said afterwards that he was confident time.com, and the envoys called the Kyiv talks substantive after the Moscow meeting houstonpublicmedia.org.
Ukraine is preparing for peace talks to resume with the United States and Russia, according to Zelensky's chief of staff, with the comments coming several days after the Witkoff and Kushner meetings in both capitals theglobeandmail.com. Meanwhile a Russian drone hit a train near the Ukraine-Poland border soon after dignitaries had passed through houstonpublicmedia.org.
The request therefore arrives with leverage attached and a deadline of sorts: talks that both sides describe as substantive are being prepared to resume, and the refinery campaign is one of the few cards Kyiv holds going into them houstonpublicmedia.orgtheglobeandmail.comtime.com. Whether Ukraine complies, and whether diesel retreats from its record if it does, are the two observable outcomes foxbusiness.comthehill.comenglish.nv.ua.
Sources
- thehill.com: Trump says Ukraine should halt Russian refinery strikes amid surging diesel prices - The Hill (2026-09-14)
- washingtonpost.com: Trump calls on Zelensky to stop attacking Russian energy targets - The Washington Post (2026-09-13)
- semafor.com: Trump blames Kyiv for diesel shortage (2026-09-13)
- rferl.org: Trump Tells Kyiv To Stop Attacks On Russian Diesel As Moscow's Drones Strike Near Polish Border (2026-09-13)
- english.nv.ua: Trump: Ukraine should stop hitting Russia's energy sector because it is causing diesel shortages (2026-09-13)
- time.com: Trump Wants Ukraine to Stop Striking Russian Refineries. What Would That Mean for the War? (2026-09-13)
- washingtontimes.com: Trump calls on Ukraine to halt strikes on Russian diesel, saying attacks are causing a shortage (2026-09-13)
- foxbusiness.com: Diesel prices hit record $6.20 amid US-Iran war, Hormuz disruption | Fox Business (2026-09-13)
- houstonpublicmedia.org: Russian drone hits train near Ukraine-Poland border soon after dignitaries passed through (2026-09-14)
- theglobeandmail.com: Ukraine preparing for peace talks to resume with U.S. and Russia, Zelensky's chief of staff says (2026-09-13)