--- title: "Trump said he asked Zelensky to stop strikes on Russian refineries due to rising fuel prices" description: "Trump said he asked Zelensky to stop strikes on Russian refineries, linking them to rising diesel prices. He also commented on the transfer of Patriot systems and the role of special envoys in the negotiations." date: 2026-09-13T23:10:00.000Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/trump-asked-zelensky-stop-strikes-on-russian-refineries tags: [trump, zelensky, ukraine, russia, refineries, fuel-prices, patriot, white-house] publisher: "XAB.info" --- # Trump said he asked Zelensky to stop strikes on Russian refineries due to rising fuel prices ![Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House, Trump pointing during talks on strikes against Russian refineries](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/13/trump-poprosil-zelenskogo-prekratit-udary-po-rossiyskim-npz/trump-poprosil-zelenskogo-prekratit-udary-po-rossiyskim-npz-1.webp) ## 🎯 Key Points - Trump said he asked Zelensky not to strike Russian refineries, linking the strikes to rising diesel fuel prices. - As an example of the "success" of special envoys Witkoff and Kushner, Trump cited the return of hostages in Gaza and Hamas's readiness to give up its weapons. - On the Patriot topic, Trump said it concerns a "less refined version" of the license and that the US is producing the systems "more than ever before." - On the night of September 13, Ukraine hit two Russian refineries — in Krasnodar Krai and Tatarstan, where fires were recorded. US President Donald Trump once again publicly linked the rise in global diesel fuel prices with strikes by the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Russian oil-processing infrastructure. According to him, a significant share of diesel on the market comes from Russia, and Russian facilities, he claimed, are "under attack from Ukraine." In this regard, as the American leader stated, he "asked President Zelensky not to strike diesel production facilities, refineries." This is reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing a White House broadcast. ### The fuel argument and interrupting journalists When asked whether this means the war in Ukraine could soon end, Trump, according to the broadcast, interrupted the journalists and returned to the topic of fuel prices, emphasizing that the rise in diesel costs "harms the entire world" and that this situation "needs to be stopped." Thus, the US president effectively made fuel cost the central argument in his public rhetoric around the conflict, without disclosing specific data on what share of global diesel depends on Russian refineries or how exactly strikes on them correlate with price dynamics. ### Gaza, hostages, and the "success" of special envoys Journalists also asked Trump whether CIA Director John Ratcliffe would play a more significant role in the negotiations and whether he had concerns about the ability of special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to strike a deal. Trump replied that "Ratcliffe is doing a great job," and as an example of the "success" of Witkoff and Kushner, he cited the situation in Gaza. According to him, "we brought back all the hostages," there is "not so much fighting in Gaza right now," and Hamas is "ready to give up its weapons." "They did an incredible job. No one else could have handled this task," the American leader declared, without providing independent confirmation of the claims about the impending disarmament. ### Patriot: a "less refined version" and stockpile buildup Separately, Trump commented on the topic of transferring to Ukraine licenses for Patriot air defense missile systems. According to him, this concerns a "less refined version." When asked whether NATO allies would transfer Patriot missiles from their own stockpiles or from those received from the US, the US president replied that Washington has a "large stockpile of certain types of weapons." "As for the 'elite' ones, most of that was transferred to Ukraine, but now we are producing it very quickly. We are rapidly building up our stockpiles. We are now producing more Patriots than ever before," he summarized. ### Contradictory data There are notable discrepancies in the wording of different outlets and in Trump's own rhetoric. Some media (for example, glavred.info) frame the statement as a "hard ultimatum" to Zelensky, while RBC-Ukraine, TASS, and novosti.ua use softer wording — Trump "asked" or "called on" Ukraine to stop the strikes. In other words, it is either a request or a demand — and Trump himself uses the word "asked" in the quote. Moreover, the causal link between strikes on refineries and rising diesel prices is an assertion by the US president himself and is not confirmed in the provided materials by independent price or logistics analysis. Finally, chronologically: less than a day before these statements, Trump had already said that Ukraine "cannot" strike Russian infrastructure because of a "global diesel fuel shortage" and that Zelensky "should change tactics," indicating that his position is recurring rather than one-off. ### Context: strikes on refineries on the night of September 13 Trump's statements came against the backdrop of fresh strikes: on the night of September 13, the Defense Forces of Ukraine hit two Russian refineries — in Krasnodar Krai and in Tatarstan, with fires recorded at both facilities. Thus, Washington's public demand to stop attacks on oil-processing facilities coincided in time with the new strikes, amplifying the resonance of the statement and making it a key element of diplomatic pressure on Kyiv in the current phase of the conflict. ## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification - [Trump said he asked Zelensky not to strike Russian refineries](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/tramp-zayaviv-shcho-poprosiv-zelenskogo-biti-1789340856.html) - Первичная цитата Трампа о просьбе к Зеленскому прекратить удары по НПЗ и о ценах на дизель; ссылка на трансляцию Белого дома. - [The strikes must stop: Trump issued Zelensky a hard ultimatum](https://glavred.info/war/udary-nuzhno-prekratit-tramp-vydvinul-zelenskomu-zhestkiy-ultimatum-10796381.html) - Альтернативная подача заявления как «ультиматума»; использована в блоке противоречий по тону формулировок. - [Trump called on Ukraine to stop striking Russian refineries](https://tass.ru/mezhdunarodnaya-panorama/28108349) - Подтверждение факта заявления с формулировкой «призвал»; согласуется с основной версией. - [Trump urges Zelensky to halt strikes on Russian refineries](https://novosti.ua/politics/tramp-trebuet-chtoby-ukraina-prekratila-udary-po-rossiyskim-npz) - Дополнительное подтверждение заявления и контекста давления на Киев. ## ❓ FAQ ### Q: What exactly did Trump say about Ukraine's strikes on Russian refineries? **A:** Trump said that strikes on Russian refineries are driving up diesel fuel prices and that he "asked" President Zelensky to stop such strikes. ### Q: Does Trump link rising fuel prices to the war? **A:** Yes, according to him a significant share of diesel comes from Russia, and strikes on the facilities lead to rising prices, which, he claims, "harms the entire world." ### Q: What did Trump say about Patriot for Ukraine? **A:** He stated that it concerns a "less refined version" of the license, and also that the US is "producing more Patriots than ever before" and rapidly building up stockpiles. ### Q: What strikes on refineries occurred on the eve of the statement? **A:** On the night of September 13, the Defense Forces of Ukraine hit two Russian refineries — in Krasnodar Krai and in Tatarstan, with fires recorded at both. ### Q: Is the link between strikes on refineries and rising diesel prices a confirmed fact? **A:** No, in the provided materials this is Trump's own assertion; no independent price or logistics analysis is cited in the sources, so the article notes it as his position.