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US President Donald Trump has said Russia and Ukraine have agreed to stop attacking each other’s energy infrastructure, a day after he criticised Kyiv over strikes on Russian oil refineries.
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Trump disclosed the purported agreement on Monday in a post on his Truth Social platform, saying both sides had committed to refraining from attacks on energy-related facilities.
“Ukraine has agreed not to hit Russian Energy targets. Russia has agreed to do, likewise!” Trump wrote.
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The US president also attributed the recent increase in global diesel prices to the Russia-Ukraine war, dismissing the conflict involving Iran as the main cause.
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“The World’s Diesel price rise is mostly caused by the Russia/Ukraine War, not Iran,” he added.
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Ukraine’s presidency declined to comment on Trump’s statement, while Moscow had not immediately responded to the claim.
Trump’s announcement comes as oil prices continue to rise amid the seventh month of the war involving Iran, adding to concerns over fuel costs and inflation in the United States ahead of the November midterm elections.
The US president had on Sunday criticised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a visit to Ireland, urging him to stop attacks on Russian diesel infrastructure.
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Trump said Zelensky needed to do one thing: stop targeting Russian diesel refineries because the strikes were contributing to shortages.
“Let him go after targets, but not diesel fuel, because he’s causing a shortage of diesel,” Trump said, maintaining that the Russia-Ukraine conflict, rather than the US-Israel war with Iran, was responsible for the pressure on diesel prices.
He said he had discussed Ukraine’s intensified attacks on Russian energy facilities with Zelensky.
“There are plenty of other targets. Don’t hit diesel fuel because that’s hurting. That’s hurting the world. We don’t want him to hit diesel fuel… He’s hitting diesel refineries.”
Ukraine has carried out attacks on several Russian oil refineries located deep inside Russian territory, while Moscow has also stepped up its long-range strikes in recent months, resulting in an increase in civilian casualties.
Kyiv has launched record numbers of drones against targets in Russia, while Moscow has responded with what has also been described as an unprecedented level of missile attacks.
Trump said last week that he had a great conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin and maintained that the Russian leader was interested in reaching an agreement to end the war.
Putin “is wanting to make a deal, and if Zelensky is wanting to make a deal, that’d be very nice,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday.
Zelensky said last week that he was prepared to meet Putin during the G20 summit at Trump’s Doral resort in Miami in December. The Kremlin, however, immediately rejected the possibility of such a meeting.
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