President Trump is set to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in New York City on Tuesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly following Ukraine’s massive weekend drone attack on Russia, which included attacks on Russian oil refineries.
Trump has been calling for Ukraine to halt attacks on Russia’s oil infrastructure and reportedly urged Zelensky to do so in a call on Sunday, but the attacks are known to be supported by US intelligence. In a post on Truth Social on Monday, Trump said Russia has “unfortunately lost control of its Diesel Oil Industry due to its War with Ukraine.”
“A large number of their Diesel refineries have been blown up and are, at least temporarily, out of commission. This ridiculous and never ending War with Ukraine must be ended. The whole World suffers as 25,000 people, mostly soldiers, are being killed each month. What a shame!” the president added.
Trump appears to be attempting to shift the blame for the rising diesel prices from his war with Iran to the war with Ukraine. According to the Financial Times, in his call with Zelensky on Sunday, Trump’s main message was about “diesel, diesel … diesel,” and he told Zelensky to order a halt to attacks on Russian refineries.
But there’s no sign that Trump is actually taking steps to cut off US intelligence support for Ukraine, which makes the attacks possible. The FT reported just a few months ago that US intelligence has helped Ukraine’s forces identify optimal flight paths for its drones, allowing them to bypass Russian air defenses and reach targets deep inside Russia.
The Atlantic reported last month that US intelligence support was providing “the targeting packages for strikes on Russian troop positions in Ukraine and on energy infrastructure inside Russia.”
While Ukraine has been able to ramp up its strikes inside Russia, the operations have only escalated Russian missile and drone attacks across Ukraine, and Russian forces continue to have the momentum on the battlefield. There’s also no sign that the new US diplomatic push has brought the two sides closer to a peace deal, as the Kremlin said on Monday that there’s been no progress in the negotiations.
