The French president’s push for an energy truce comes amid increased pressure from Trump on Zelenskyy to halt Kyiv’s targeting of Russia’s energy sector.
“Mr Zelenskyy has to do one thing. He has to stop knocking out diesel fuel in Russia,” Trump said on Sep. 13. “The world’s diesel price rise is mostly caused by the Russia/Ukraine War, not Iran,” he wrote a day later on social media.
Despite Trump’s calls, Ukraine continued targeting Russian energy infrastructure, sparking a fire overnight on Tuesday at a major refinery in Samara, southwestern Russia. The Ukrainian Armed Forces said their strikes on Russian oil plants since June have destroyed almost half of the country’s refining capacity. Moscow has also frequently caused blackouts through strikes on Ukraine’s energy sector.
Zelenskyy on Monday indicated Kyiv’s interest in a mutual “de-escalation” on energy and critical infrastructure. He will meet with Trump in New York at 1:15 p.m. local time on Tuesday (7:15 p.m. CET).