Trump said the rise in global fuel prices is tied above all to the war between Russia and Ukraine, not to the conflict between the United States and Iran.
Zelensky has said Kyiv is ready for de-escalation, but that any halt to refinery strikes must be matched by an end to Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy and critical infrastructure. According to him, "it will no longer be the case that only the country that was attacked suffers." Zelensky proposed that the Russian side "put on the table" a list of facilities the Ukrainian army will not strike as part of an energy truce.
In mid-September, Trump called on Zelensky for the first time to stop strikes on Russian facilities linked to diesel fuel. A phone call between the two presidents followed, in which, according to Axios, "the word 'diesel' was mentioned many times."
The Kremlin called refraining from strikes on the energy sector a "good idea," but noted that ensuring the safe operation of refineries and increasing oil product output would not solve the shortage problem.
Since the start of 2026, Ukraine's Armed Forces have struck Russian refineries more than 70 times and disabled several dozen plants. In August alone, six large plants were shut down for repairs. According to EA Analytics, the shutdowns pushed Russian oil refining to its lowest level since 2002, leading to fuel shortages in the country and a ban on its export.