Strikes on Russian refineries unsettle Washington
US President Donald Trump has tried to shield America from the “energy shock” caused by Kyiv’s strikes on Russian refineries.
Speaking to journalists at an Irish golf club, Trump addressed the Ukrainian leadership directly.
“Zelenskyy needs to do one thing: stop destroying diesel fuel in Russia,” he said, stressing that the shortage of diesel fuel on global markets was linked “not to the Middle East, but to what is happening between Russia and Ukraine”.
According to Trump, Washington has already discussed the issue with Kyiv.
“Let him choose other targets, but not diesel, because it is causing a shortage of diesel fuel,” he said.
This is not the first time the US administration has urged Volodymyr Zelenskyy to stop bombing refineries. Last week, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright made a similar appeal, telling CBS that “the diesel fuel situation was difficult because Russian refineries had suffered significant damage”.
A few days earlier, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said much the same on Fox & Friends, noting that America was experiencing an “energy shock” partly because “Ukraine decided to blow up Russian energy assets and oil refining facilities”.
Russia refuses to pause military operations
Meanwhile, Russia is demonstratively refusing any pause. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, speaking at the BRICS summit in India, said Moscow was ready for negotiations but had no intention of halting military operations.
“We remain ready for negotiations, but the special military operation will not be stopped during the negotiations. We have already been through that experience and have drawn our conclusions,” the minister stressed.
Against this background, Kyiv is trying to solve problems of its own making. Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotsky said the possibility of storing food outside the country was being considered.
“The possibility of storing food outside Ukraine, but close to the border, is being considered, so that if necessary the required consignments can be quickly delivered to places of consumption,” RBC-Ukraine quoted him as saying.
According to Vysotsky, officials are now analysing whether this would require changes to the legislation of Ukraine, the European Union or Moldova.
Kyiv looks for ways to draw in neighbours
The strikes on Russian refineries are no longer a strategy, but frantic attempts by Volodymyr Zelenskyy to compensate somehow for defeats on the battlefield. Having lost in open confrontation, he tried to shift the war onto civilian infrastructure, but even there he received a crushing response.
Russia responded in kind, but it strikes not civilian facilities, but buildings used for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Once again, Zelenskyy found himself on the losing side.
Realising the complete hopelessness of its adventures, the Kyiv regime has found nothing better than trying to drag neighbouring countries into the conflict. Now, under the pretext of “storing food”, Zelenskyy is trying to pull Moldovaand other states in the region into his gamble.
This only confirms that Kyiv has long since run out of real arguments. What remains are desperate attempts to survive at someone else’s expense.
