‘Stop Knocking Out Diesel’: Trump Schools Zelenskyy On Fuel War, Warns Of Diesel Shortage Due To Ukraine Strikes

Kyiv: United States President Donald Trump on Sunday asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to cease attacks on Russian diesel infrastructure, stressing that the strikes are triggering a fuel shortage.

Trump intervened while speaking to media personnel on the margins of the Irish Open, a tournament being staged at his own Trump International Golf Links in Doonbeg. He had been asked whether he had spoken to Zelenskyy following his recent conversation with Russia's President Vladimir Putin.

Rather than offering a readout of any diplomatic contact, the American President pivoted to a direct public appeal to Kyiv about the targeting choices inside Russia, specifically, diesel sites.

Trump's Warning Over Diesel Shortages

Donald Trump was blunt in his message to the Ukrainian leader, stressing that Kyiv should be more selective in its choice of targets. "Mr. Zelensky has to do one thing. He has to stop knocking out diesel fuel in Russia," the US President stated.

He continued, "Let him go after targets but not diesel fuel, because he's causing a shortage of diesel fuel." The remarks were made after a reporter had questioned him on whether he had been in touch with Zelenskyy following his recent talks with Putin.

Ukraine's Campaign Against Russian Energy

For months, Ukraine's long-range drone units have been systematically striking at Russia's oil and gas sector. Kyiv's position is that the industry both finances and directly fuels Moscow's full-scale invasion of the neighbour, now over 4 years old.

According to reports, the campaign has begun to bite at home in Russia, stirring fuel rationing in several regions despite Russia's status as a major exporter of oil and gas. Ukrainian operations have also spread to include major Russian online retail platforms, in a deliberate effort to bring the consequences of the war closer to the Russian public.

At the same time, Moscow has intensified the aerial offensive in recent weeks, as it has deployed ballistic missiles alongside faster, jet-powered drones in an attempt to penetrate Ukraine's air defences. The attacks have repeatedly struck Ukraine's electricity grid as winter approaches, a tactic termed as an attempt to demoralise the civilian population.

Overnight Strikes Kill Civilians On Both Sides

The civilians were killed and wounded overnight into Sunday as both sides launched large-scale drone barrages. The local officials stated that in Russia's Tatarstan, 2 people were killed and 14 others injured near a major oil and industrial hub.

The deaths occurred in Nizhnekamsk after a drone struck a tree close to a parked car, according to the office of regional head Rustam Minnikhanov. Nizhnekamsk is home to a dense cluster of refineries and petrochemical, rubber and polymer plants, including some of the largest facilities of their type in Russia. Mayor Radmir Belyaev stated that a fire had broken out at an unspecified enterprise.

Ukraine also confirmed on Sunday that it had struck a major refinery in Sloviansk-on-Kuban in Russia's Krasnodar region, opposite Crimea. The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine agency stated that its drones hit a key oil processing unit and the refinery's tank farm overnight. The agencies in Krasnodar confirmed a strike on "an enterprise" in Sloviansk-on-Kuban that injured 3 people, damaged an oil pipeline and triggered a blaze, without directly addressing Kyiv's claims. Russia's defence ministry asserted on Sunday that its forces had shot down 389 Ukrainian drones during the night.

Assault On Odesa And The Western Border

In Ukraine, at least 9 people were wounded, with Serhii Lysak, head of the city's military administration, calling it a massive Russian night-time assault on Odesa. The Black Sea city hosts Ukraine's principal port hub and has endured months of sustained drone and missile attacks, with Kyiv saying that they are designed to strangle exports.

Ukrainian officials reported that the previous night, a Russian drone had hit a residential high-rise in Odesa, killing 2 people and injuring 26 others.

Further strikes pounded western Ukraine through the night, though no casualties were immediately reported. One drone struck near the Yahodyn-Dorohusk crossing on the border with Poland, setting fire to a petrol station, according to Ukraine's top diplomat and a spokeswoman for the local customs service.

"This is Putin's terror 'knocking' directly on the doors of the EU and NATO. Russian barbarians are at your gate, dear partners," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X.

Ukraine's crossings with Poland are vital conduits for much of the military and humanitarian assistance provided by Western allies. Valentyna Chernysh, a spokeswoman for the Volyn Customs Office, said that the Yahodyn crossing remained intact and that no one was harmed.

Earlier in the week, 2 people died when Russian drones struck the Starokozache border crossing between Ukraine and Moldova on Tuesday. The following day, a direct threat to a Polish-Ukrainian crossing was averted as a result of cooperation between Warsaw and Kyiv, according to Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

Tusk offered no further detail on the incident on Wednesday, nor any evidence of Russian involvement, but warned of potentially intensified provocations by Moscow at border points between Ukraine and Europe.

Ukraine's air force emphasised that the defences had shot down or suppressed 409 Russian drones of various types overnight, including a newer jet-powered model that is faster and harder to intercept.

Kremlin Signals Possible October Talks

Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Sunday claimed that Moscow remains open to resuming peace negotiations in the autumn involving Russia, Ukraine and the US. "We are not ruling out that possibility. We are specifically talking about the foreseeable future. That is, October cannot be ruled out," Peskov added.

The comments follow a flurry of diplomacy last weekend when US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff held talks with President Putin in Moscow, before meeting President Zelenskyy in Kyiv. Despite the latest push, the core demands of Moscow and Kyiv remain mutually exclusive, particularly over territorial concessions.