WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said Monday that Ukraine and Russia had agreed not to target each other’s energy facilities, a day after he chastised Kyiv for hitting Russian oil refineries.
“Ukraine has agreed not to hit Russian Energy targets. Russia has agreed to do, likewise! The World’s Diesel price rise is mostly caused by the Russia/Ukraine War, not Iran,” Trump said on his Truth Social network.
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 14, 2026
Oil prices have soared as the war in the Middle East hits the six-and-a-half-month mark, raising American fuel costs and inflation just weeks before the US midterm elections.
On Sunday, Trump said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had to stop attacks on Russian diesel fuel infrastructure, saying the strikes were contributing to a shortage of the fuel.
“Mr. Zelensky has to do one thing. He has to stop knocking out diesel fuel in Russia,” Trump told reporters during a visit to Ireland. “Let him go after targets, but not diesel fuel, because he’s causing a shortage of diesel.”
Trump said he had discussed the issue with Zelenskyy, adding that the diesel shortage was not being caused by the conflict in the Middle East.
“This isn’t done by the Middle East, this is done by what’s happening with Russia and Ukraine,” Trump said.
BREAKING: Trump calls on Zelenskyy to stop striking Russian diesel refineries, warning the attacks are “hurting the world” by contributing to a diesel shortage.
“He has to stop knocking out diesel fuel in Russia,” Trump says, adding that Ukraine can go after “plenty of other… pic.twitter.com/HYGYlUTwNn
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 13, 2026
Ukraine has continued to target Russian energy infrastructure. Ukraine’s General Staff said Ukrainian forces struck oil refineries in Russia’s Krasnodar region and the Republic of Tatarstan on Sunday.
Russia-Ukraine-US talks possible in October
Trump’s comments came as diplomatic efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war showed signs of renewed activity.
Three-way talks between Russia, Ukraine and the United States could take place in October, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday, according to Russia’s RIA and TASS news agencies.
“We do not rule out such a possibility; we are talking about the foreseeable future,” Peskov told journalists.
Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov said later on Sunday that there was still no “coordinated package” on which negotiations could be based.
“At present, there is the idea that we need to reach an agreement on the territorial issue. But there are also many other questions,” Ushakov said.
Washington has been seeking to revive efforts to end the more than four-year-old war. US negotiators have recently visited Kyiv and Moscow, while Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have held telephone talks.
Several previous rounds of negotiations have failed to produce a settlement.
Zelenskyy open to meeting Putin
Zelenskyy said in an interview released on Saturday that he would be willing to meet Putin at the G20 summit in Miami in December for talks.
Peskov, however, ruled out such a meeting, repeating Moscow’s position that any meeting between the two leaders could only take place in the Russian capital.
Putin has repeatedly rejected proposals for a face-to-face meeting with Zelenskyy aimed at finding a way to end the war.
Moscow and Kyiv have also continued long-range strikes against each other.
Russia’s demand that Ukraine cede territory in the east remains a major obstacle. Moscow has sought control of parts of eastern Ukraine that its forces have not captured, while Kyiv has rejected such demands.
US envoys seek to revive negotiations
Trump’s special envoy Jared Kushner said earlier that he hoped to announce the “next steps” in negotiations within a “couple of weeks”.
Kushner and US envoy Steve Witkoff travelled to Moscow and Kyiv last week in an effort to revive the US-led peace process. Their visit to Kyiv was their first.
Speaking by video to the Yalta European Strategy forum in Kyiv on Friday, in remarks released on Saturday, Kushner said he hoped the discussions would produce a way forward.
“I really hope in the next couple of weeks we’ll be able to announce what the next steps are,” he said. “And hopefully that will bring us closer to a pathway forward.”
Kushner said Putin was committed to finding a way forward. He described the engagement with both sides as “very constructive and very positive”, while acknowledging the complexity of the issues involved.
The US officials met Putin and Zelenskyy but announced no breakthrough in the diplomatic deadlock.
Kushner said the US side would return to Kyiv “when there’s something to talk about, when it’s needed”.
He described his visit to Ukraine as “very special” and praised the resilience of Ukrainians, while acknowledging the cost of the war.
