US President Donald Trump did indeed ask his Ukrainian counterpart in a phone call to stop attacking Russia’s diesel industry. But the issue was not raised during their meeting on 22 September in New York, reported Volodymyr Zelenskyy told The Wall Street Journal.
The President stressed that Ukrainian lives matter more than energy prices. He also does not link the rise in fuel prices to Ukrainian strikes — in his view, it was caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz as a result of the war in the Middle East.
“But in any case, even if this [the Ukrainian strikes] has an impact, if everyone simply wants to help people with diesel or with diesel prices, OK — help us stop Putin from causing blackouts across Ukraine, from attacking our civilian infrastructure and water supply. Water is not an enemy for Putin. I mean, water for people. So if he attacks, he understands there will be a response from Ukraine, and we will, of course, do it — absolutely — until the war ends,” he said.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy added that for Ukraine to stop attacking refineries, Russia must agree to an energy ceasefire.
“If you do not want attacks on energy — energy supply, petrol, diesel, refineries, gas, water supply, because it depends on electricity — shortages and everything else, electricity. If you have decided not to attack critical infrastructure, then that means critical infrastructure — there is a list of critical infrastructure. And I think all respected state leaders should know what it means not to attack energy. It is perfectly clear what that means,” the President of Ukraine commented.
- On 22 September in New York, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session, a meeting took place between the Ukrainian and US presidents. And a few days earlier, on 20 September, they held a phone call. The call took place on the day of large-scale Ukrainian attacks on a Moscow refinery.
- Trump has repeatedly linked the rise in diesel prices to Ukrainian strikes on Russia, which Ukraine carries out in response to Russian attacks. The global energy crisis began in winter, after the Strait of Hormuz — a key oil supply route — was blocked by Iranian forces. The IRGC began the blockade in response to a military operation by Israel and the United States.