Trump Says He Warned Zelensky to Stop Strikes on Russian Refineries as Diesel Hits Record

The admission reframes refinery strikes as a deliberate point of friction between Washington and Kyiv, not merely a battlefield tactic. It matters because the stated motive is fuel-market pressure, which ties a geopolitical decision to diesel costs that already register with consumers. The open question is whether that warning was ever binding, and whether the strikes continue regardless — a test of how much influence the US retains over Ukraine's targeting choices when energy prices are at stake.