Trump said officials from his administration had asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to stop drone and missile attacks on any Russian sites that produce diesel.
“Mr Zelenskyy has to do one thing. He has to stop knocking out diesel fuel in Russia,” Trump said during a pause on his tour of his Doonbeg golf course on Ireland’s west coast. “Let him go after targets but not diesel fuel, because he’s causing a shortage of diesel fuel.”
The U.S. leader maintained that the conflict Washington initiated with Iran more than six months ago is not to blame for the shortfall. “This isn’t done by the Middle East,” Trump said. “This is done by what’s happening with Russia and Ukraine. So we spoke to Mr Zelenskyy about it. There are plenty of other targets. Don’t hit diesel fuel, because that’s hurting the world.”
Ukraine’s increasingly deep-range strikes on Russian energy infrastructure are seen as a key part of its strategy to make Russia’s 4-year full-scale invasion of the country prohibitively costly for Moscow.
But a senior European official familiar with U.S.-brokered mediation talks between Moscow and Kyiv told POLITICO that the Trump administration was searching for scapegoats ahead of crucial Nov. 3 midterm elections in the United States.
“This administration is blaming Ukraine because they do not know what to do with their war [in Iran],” the official said. “Russian exports of diesel and oil have never been significant for U.S. consumption. The very idea is absurd. Moreover, we have all heard President Trump say that America itself can supply as much oil as anyone wants.”