Trump presses Ukraine on refineries
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The gist
U.S. envoy Jared Kushner told Ukraine in Oslo to stop hitting Russian oil refineries.
Ukraine's strikes threaten a Russian diesel deal meant to ease U.S. fuel prices.
Background
Donald Trump is the U.S. President, and Jared Kushner is his son-in-law and special envoy. Ukraine has struck Russian oil-refining facilities since October 2025, and Trump argues the strikes raise U.S. diesel prices, which reached an average of $6.28 a gallon on Oct. 8, up about 70% since the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran began this year. Trump announced a Russian diesel supply deal on Oct. 9, and the refinery strikes complicate that arrangement, so Washington has pressed Kyiv to stop them.
How it unfolded
- Oct 2025Ukraine began striking Russian oil-refining facilities.
- Oct 9, 2026Trump announced Russia would supply more than 300,000 metric tons of diesel to U.S. and global markets, followed by 500,000 in November and 1 million shortly afterward.
- Oct 15, 2026Ukraine resumed attacks on Russian refineries; a drone attack reportedly started a fire at Rosneft's Ryazan refinery, which accounts for nearly 5% of Russian refining throughput.
- Oct 16, 2026Trump called Ukraine's resumption of refinery strikes a "disgrace"; Ukraine hit a refinery after Zelenskyy said he was "done" with the truce.
- Oct 20, 2026Talks were held in Oslo between Zelenskyy, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Trump representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who joined virtually; Kushner pressed Ukraine to stop the strikes.
- Oct 21, 2026Witkoff met Putin in St. Petersburg with an updated peace proposal; a new round of talks was announced for mid-November in the UAE, and the first diesel shipment under the deal was expected to leave Thursday.
Who’s saying what
- Official
- Trump says the refinery strikes affect consumers and raise U.S. diesel prices, and that resuming them is a "disgrace"; Kushner carried that demand to Kyiv.
- Support
- Zelenskyy said Ukraine is prepared to halt strikes on "sensitive parts of the Russian energy sector" if Moscow stops attacking Ukrainian energy facilities.
- Expert
- Maksym Pyziur of the Energy Policy Research Foundation said prices stayed relatively stable after the strikes began, that blaming Ukraine is the wrong approach, and that Ukraine should continue them.
Still unverified
Trump announced an energy ceasefire on Oct. 11, but neither side confirmed a formal agreement. Reports say Trump has intermittently cut back U.S. intelligence-sharing and restricted Ukraine's access to Starshield, the military-grade version of Elon Musk's Starlink network, to pressure Zelenskyy; the U.S. also reportedly suspended intelligence sharing last week over the refinery strikes.