Trump says he asked Zelenskyy to stop striking Russian oil refineries
Photo: Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump again claimed that fuel prices are allegedly rising due to Ukraine's strikes on Russian oil refineries. In connection with this, he states that he asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to stop these attacks, according to a White House broadcast.
"The problem I have with Ukraine and Russia is that, you know, a lot of the diesel comes, diesel oil comes, and that's the one where there's a big up comes from Russia, and the Russian plants are being hit by Ukraine. And I've asked President Zelenskyy not to hit the diesel plants, refineries," Trump stated.
When asked whether this means the war in Ukraine could end, the US president interrupted journalists and again spoke about fuel prices, noting that this is harming the entire world and needs to stop.
US President was also asked whether CIA Director John Ratcliffe would play a more significant role in negotiations, and whether he has concerns about the ability of special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to reach an agreement.
In response, Trump said that Ratcliffe is doing great, and as an example of Witkoff and Kushner's success, he cited Gaza.
"Look at Gaza as an example. Look at the fact we got all the hostages back. We got the hostages back. You know, people forget there's not a lot of fighting in Gaza. Hamas is now willing to give up their weapons. No, they've done an incredible job. Nobody could have done the job," the American leader claimed.
Additionally, journalists touched on the topic of transferring Patriot licenses to Ukraine, asking what the parties are discussing. According to Trump, it concerns a less sophisticated version.
Also, when asked about NATO allies' decisions to transfer Patriot missiles to Ukraine from their stockpiles or those they received from the US, Trump said that Washington has a large supply of certain types of weapons.
"When it comes to the elite, a lot of that was given to Ukraine, but we're making it very rapidly right now. We're building up our stockpile very fast. Mr. President, right now we're making more Patriots than we've ever made," he concluded.
What preceded this
Less than a day ago, Trump had already said that Ukraine should stop strikes on Russian infrastructure because this leads to a global diesel fuel shortage. According to the US president, Zelenskyy should change tactics.
On the night of September 13, Ukrainian Defense Forces struck two Russian refineries at once - in Krasnodar Krai and Tatarstan. Fires were recorded at both facilities.
