In an interview with Newsmax aired on Thursday, October 15, Trump said Ukraine’s attacks on facilities producing diesel fuel were harmful to global energy supplies, as efforts to secure a ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv faced renewed setbacks.
“All he’s doing is making the world oil price higher. Well, I think that’s a disgrace,” Trump said, criticising Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky over the renewed attacks.
Trump argued that Ukraine should avoid targeting facilities that supply fuel to international markets, saying the strikes could have consequences beyond Russia’s borders.
“There are a lot of targets you can hit, but when you shoot at diesel refineries where you make, you know, diesel oil, and we need that, and the world needs that, then he’s not doing a good service for the world,” he said.
The remarks followed Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, including a Rosneft oil refinery in the Ryazan region, southeast of Moscow. The facility supplies fuel to the Russian capital and represents a significant part of Russia’s refining capacity.
Ukraine resumed attacks on Russian energy facilities after Zelensky said Kyiv would no longer observe the energy ceasefire announced by Trump, citing continued Russian attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure.
Russian missile and drone strikes have repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s energy facilities, disrupting electricity supplies and leaving communities facing power shortages.
Zelensky told the Financial Times that Ukraine’s patience had run out, signalling Kyiv’s unwillingness to continue refraining from attacking Russian refineries while its own energy infrastructure remained under attack.
Trump also expressed frustration with the Ukrainian president, saying that although he believed both Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted the war to end, he considered the Ukrainian leader more difficult to negotiate with.
“I’m not a big fan of Zelenskiy,” Trump said. “I think they actually both would like to see it end, but I think I find Zelenskiy to be more difficult to deal with than Putin.”
The US president has sought to broker an agreement to end Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022. However, continued attacks on energy infrastructure have complicated efforts to establish a lasting ceasefire.
Meanwhile, Ukraine continues to rely on Western military support and intelligence as it defends against Russian attacks. The latest developments have also highlighted tensions surrounding the military and technological assistance Kyiv receives from Washington.
The renewed strikes on energy facilities come amid wider concerns about the war’s impact on international energy markets, with attacks on oil production and refining infrastructure threatening to disrupt supplies and put additional pressure on prices.
Leave a Reply