One thing, stop it

Speaking to reporters in Ireland on Sunday, Trump said Ukraine's president has a single job to fix: quit striking Russia's diesel refineries.

“Zelensky has to do one thing. He has to stop knocking out diesel fuel in Russia.”

Hit anything else

Trump did not ask Kyiv to stop attacking Russia. He drew a line around fuel infrastructure and said there is a long list of other targets.

“Let him go after targets, but not diesel fuel because he's causing a shortage of diesel.”

He already made the call

Trump said he raised it directly with Zelenskyy, after a recent conversation with Putin. The message was that the strikes hurt the world, not just Moscow.

“Don't hit diesel fuel because that's hurting the world.”

Why Kyiv keeps hitting

Long-range strikes on Russian oil and gas sites are aimed at the industry that funds and fuels the war, more than four years after the full-scale invasion.

Rationing inside Russia

The attacks squeezed Russian fuel supplies enough to trigger rationing in some regions and a ban on diesel exports in July.

Six dollars a gallon

U.S. diesel hit a record average above $6 on Friday, with reduced shipments through the Strait of Hormuz adding to the strain.

“This isn't done by the Middle East. This is done by what's happening with Russia and Ukraine.”