US President Donald Trump has blamed Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky for the ongoing diesel price shock, saying it was a result of Kiev’s attacks on Russian refineries.
The national average price of diesel hit more than $6 per gallon on Friday, up from approximately $5.85 last week. The price has climbed some 60% compared to the same period last year, when diesel fuel cost some $3.71 per gallon. Market experts have mainly linked the hike to the conflict in the Middle East and the reignited hostilities between the US and Iran, which have prompted a renewed rise in crude oil prices.
Trump, however, insisted that this was not the case, telling reporters while on a visit to Ireland that the diesel price spike was actually related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The US president said he had already raised the issue with the Ukrainian leader and told him to stop attacking diesel production in Russia.
“Zelensky has to do one thing. He has to stop knocking out diesel fuel in Russia. Let him go after targets, but not diesel fuel, because he’s causing a shortage of diesel,” Trump asserted, adding that “this isn’t done by the Middle East.”
https://www.rt.com/news/645651-trump-zelensky-diesel-price/