On September 13, 2026, at the Irish Open in Doonbeg, Ireland, U.S. President Donald Trump publicly urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries and infrastructure used to produce, store and distribute diesel. Trump said Washington had raised the issue directly with Zelenskyy and argued that the attacks were worsening a global fuel shortage.
The timing reflects mounting pressure on the physical diesel market. Average U.S. diesel prices had climbed above $6 per gallon, while months of attacks on Russian refineries had contributed to domestic fuel rationing and prompted Moscow to prohibit diesel exports in July. Russian product supplies have been leaving the international market faster than alternative exporters can replace them.
The pressure is not coming from Russia alone. According to the International Energy Agency, Gulf countries’ net exports of diesel and gasoil in August stood at just over one-quarter of their level before the Middle East conflict intensified in February. At that point, Russia and Gulf exporters together represented almost 45% of global seaborne diesel and gasoil trade.
Ukraine has continued to expand its long-range campaign against Russia’s refining system. On September 13, Ukrainian intelligence said drones struck a key processing unit and tank farm at the Slavyansk-EKO refinery in Russia’s Krasnodar region. Russian regional authorities confirmed that an industrial enterprise had been hit and that an oil pipeline was damaged, although the scale of the resulting production loss remains unclear.
For chemical producers and distributors, the immediate exposure lies in road freight, port operations and regional product delivery. Higher diesel costs flow directly into tank-truck rates, container drayage and on-site logistics. Hazardous chemical cargoes are particularly exposed because companies have fewer options to change vehicles, routes or carriers when fuel surcharges rise.
There is also a potential feedstock dimension. Refining systems supply not only transportation fuels but also naphtha, LPG, base oils and selected aromatic streams used by chemical manufacturers. No broad chemical feedstock shortage has yet been confirmed, and the impact will depend on which refinery units are damaged, how long repairs take and whether Russia changes its export restrictions.
Trump’s intervention nevertheless marks an important shift. Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries are no longer being treated solely as a battlefield or sanctions issue. They are now being discussed as a factor in U.S. fuel inflation, international freight costs and global industrial supply security.
The request has not yet become a formal agreement, and there is no confirmed indication that Kyiv will suspend its campaign. Markets will therefore continue watching Russian refinery operating rates, European diesel cracks, Atlantic Basin trade flows and fuel surcharges imposed by logistics providers.
