President Donald Trump says Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries are a major cause of the global diesel shortage and confirmed his administration is considering restricting U.S. diesel exports as record fuel prices become an increasingly significant economic issue.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday attributed much of the sharp rise in diesel and other energy costs to Ukraine’s expanding attacks on Russian oil refineries, arguing that disruptions caused by the Russia-Ukraine war are playing a larger role than the continuing conflict with Iran.
“The big problem is the refineries in Russia are being blown up,” Trump told reporters. “This isn’t really a Middle Eastern problem, this is more of a Russia problem — that Ukraine and Russia are going at it and Ukraine is blowing up diesel refineries in Russia because they do a lot of refining.”
Trump also confirmed that his administration is seriously considering restrictions on U.S. diesel exports in an effort to increase domestic supplies and reduce prices.
The comments, first reported Monday by Just the News, came as diesel prices remain near record levels and the administration faces pressure from farmers, truckers, lawmakers and consumers over sharply higher fuel costs.
Trump said he has already raised the refinery strikes directly with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and asked him to reduce attacks on facilities producing diesel and other fuels.
According to Trump’s account of their conversation, he told Zelenskyy, “You gotta take it easy on the refineries,” and said the Ukrainian president indicated Kyiv would probably do so. Trump argued that the attacks are “causing a world problem” by removing significant refining capacity from an already strained international market.
Zelenskyy has previously given a different characterization of their private discussions, saying Trump did not pressure him during their Sept. 22 meeting in New York to stop attacking Russian refineries. The two governments have nevertheless publicly discussed the possibility of an energy ceasefire under which Ukraine would stop striking Russian energy infrastructure if Moscow halted attacks on Ukraine’s energy system.
Ukraine has greatly expanded its campaign against Russia’s refining industry in recent months.
One of the most consequential strikes hit the Moscow oil refinery on Sept. 20, damaging its two primary crude-processing units and forcing the plant to suspend crude processing, according to industry sources cited by Reuters.
The refinery, operated by Gazprom Neft, processed about 11.6 million metric tons of crude in 2024 and produced approximately 3.2 million tons of diesel and 2.9 million tons of gasoline. Repairs to the damaged units were expected to take several weeks.
Ukraine has also struck refineries in Samara, Bashkortostan and other parts of Russia, continuing a campaign Kyiv says is intended to reduce Moscow’s ability to finance and supply its military.
Those attacks are now having measurable effects on global diesel supplies.
Reuters reported Sept. 21 that diesel prices in both Europe and the United States had reached record levels as the wars involving Russia, Ukraine and Iran reduced exports from major fuel-producing countries, including Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
U.S. diesel crossed $6 per gallon nationally for the first time Sept. 10, according to GasBuddy. Reuters attributed that milestone to the combined effect of the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran and Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries.
By late September, AAA data cited in market reporting showed the national average for diesel at approximately $6.47 per gallon, compared with about $3.69 a year earlier — an increase of roughly 76%. Regular gasoline was averaging about $4.48 per gallon, compared with approximately $3.14 a year earlier.
Trump’s assertion that Russian refinery disruptions are the larger problem differs from the emphasis of some energy-market analyses, which identify both wars as major contributors.
The Iran conflict has substantially disrupted crude oil, refined-fuel and shipping markets since fighting began in February.
Iran’s restrictions on traffic through the Strait of Hormuz have affected one of the world’s most important energy corridors. Military activity involving Iran and its regional adversaries has also disrupted refining and exports elsewhere in the Persian Gulf.
Reuters reported in August that the Iran war had pushed the global refining sector into a severe supply crunch, with the loss of Middle Eastern refining capacity contributing substantially to higher diesel and gasoline costs.
Oil markets have also repeatedly reacted to developments in the U.S.-Iran war.
On Sept. 1, Brent crude jumped 4.6% and U.S. West Texas Intermediate increased 5.2% after renewed fighting raised fears of additional Middle Eastern supply disruptions.
Brent climbed another roughly 2% Monday after Trump rejected Iran’s latest peace proposal and negotiations over reopening the Strait of Hormuz remained unresolved.
Those market movements indicate that the Iran conflict continues to have a significant effect on global oil prices even as Russian refinery disruptions tighten supplies of diesel and other refined products.
The distinction is important because crude oil and diesel markets are related but not identical.
Russia is one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of refined fuels, particularly diesel. Destroying or disabling Russian refining capacity does not necessarily remove the same amount of crude oil from world markets, but it can reduce the supply of finished fuels that trucks, agricultural equipment, ships, rail systems and heavy machinery require.
The Iran conflict has affected both crude supplies and refining capacity while also restricting shipping through Hormuz.
That combination has left the international market with fewer options for replacing lost Russian and Middle Eastern diesel production.
The United States has increasingly filled the gap.
U.S. diesel exports surged to record levels this year as buyers in Europe and Latin America sought alternatives to supplies disrupted by the two wars. Weekly American diesel exports approached 2 million barrels per day in August, while year-to-date exports have averaged approximately 1.5 million barrels per day.
That increase has produced growing political pressure for Trump to keep more American-refined fuel inside the United States.
Trump said Sunday that he was examining an export restriction “very seriously.”
“That can oftentimes lead to a little bit of an increase on gasoline for cars, so we’re looking at it very seriously — we may do it,” Trump said while attending the Presidents Cup golf tournament near Chicago.
The president’s acknowledgment reflects one of the complications facing the administration.
Restricting exports could leave additional diesel available in the United States in the short term, potentially pushing domestic diesel prices lower. But refiners and some economists warn that a broad prohibition could eventually reduce refinery production and increase gasoline and jet-fuel prices.
American refineries produce multiple products from the same barrel of crude oil. A refinery cannot simply stop producing export diesel while maintaining exactly the same output of gasoline, jet fuel and other petroleum products.
S&P Global Energy CERA estimated that a complete diesel-export ban could eventually force U.S. refiners to reduce crude processing by approximately 1.9 million barrels per day once storage became constrained.
Such a reduction could cut U.S. gasoline production by as much as 750,000 barrels per day and potentially turn the United States from a net gasoline exporter into a net importer during the fourth quarter, according to the analysis.
The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers trade association has also opposed an export ban, arguing that restricting foreign sales would eventually reduce overall American fuel production rather than permanently increase domestic supply.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright has previously expressed similar concerns, saying the administration is looking for ways to increase U.S. diesel availability without reducing production of gasoline and jet fuel.
Farm-state Republicans have nevertheless urged Trump to act as elevated diesel prices coincide with the fall harvest.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, called for an embargo on diesel exports, while Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., introduced legislation that would prohibit exports through January 2027. Another proposal would trigger export controls whenever the national average diesel price exceeds $5 per gallon.
The issue has become particularly significant for agriculture because diesel powers tractors, combines, irrigation equipment and trucks used to move crops.
High diesel prices can also spread through the broader economy because transportation costs affect the price of food, construction materials, consumer goods and other products.
Trump has increasingly focused on the Russian refinery attacks as he searches for ways to ease those pressures.
Earlier this month, he publicly told Zelenskyy to stop attacking Russian diesel facilities, saying there were other military targets Ukraine could pursue without reducing the global fuel supply.
Ukraine has defended its strategy by arguing that Russia’s energy industry finances Moscow’s military campaign and provides fuel directly to Russian forces.
Zelenskyy has also offered a reciprocal arrangement in which Ukraine would stop striking Russian energy targets if Russia ceased attacking Ukrainian power generation, heating and other critical infrastructure.
The dispute comes as Trump faces growing political pressure over fuel prices less than six weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
A Reuters/Ipsos survey conducted Sept. 17-20 found Trump’s overall job approval at 32%. Only 17% of respondents approved of his handling of the cost of living, according to the poll of 1,277 U.S. adults, which had a margin of error of about 3 percentage points.
The same survey found limited public support for the U.S. military campaign against Iran. About 34% approved of U.S. strikes on Iran, according to Reuters.
An earlier Reuters/Ipsos poll in August found 31% of Americans supported U.S. military action against Iran, down from 37% in March. Among Republicans, support had declined from 77% in March to 69% in August.
The economic consequences of the conflict have also become an issue in congressional campaigns.
Several Republican candidates have called for a faster end to the Iran war or additional government action on diesel prices. Republican Senate candidates Mike Rogers in Michigan and Ashley Hinson in Iowa have both publicly urged steps to ease energy costs as the conflict continues.
Trump, meanwhile, continues to argue that the most immediate diesel problem lies farther north, in Russia’s damaged refining sector.
His position does not mean the administration is denying that the Iran war affects oil prices. Trump has said oil prices would fall sharply if that conflict ends.
Rather, his latest remarks distinguish between the pressure on crude markets from the Middle East and the increasingly severe shortage of refined diesel resulting from the destruction or shutdown of refineries.
Current market evidence shows both conflicts are contributing.
Iran-related disruption has reduced Middle Eastern crude and refined-fuel flows and repeatedly moved global oil prices, while Ukraine’s increasingly effective long-range campaign has removed Russian refining capacity at a time when replacement diesel supplies are already scarce.
That has left the administration considering several options simultaneously: pressuring Ukraine to reduce refinery attacks, negotiating an end to the Iran conflict and restoration of shipping through Hormuz, encouraging greater domestic refining output and potentially restricting U.S. diesel exports.
Trump has not announced a final decision on an export ban.
For now, however, the president is publicly placing greater emphasis on Ukraine’s campaign against Russian refineries as the immediate source of the diesel shortage, even as energy markets continue to reflect the combined effects of wars in both Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
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