Trump blames Zelensky for rising diesel prices in the US

US President Donald Trump said the surge in diesel fuel prices in the United States is linked to Ukraine's strikes on Russian oil infrastructure, not to the situation in the Middle East. He made the remarks at the Irish Open golf tournament, according to the Associated Press.

"Mr. Zelensky needs to do one thing — stop destroying oil in Russia. It's causing a diesel shortage. This has nothing to do with the Middle East — it's happening because of the war between Russia and Ukraine," Trump said. It was Russia, however, that launched the war against Ukraine in 2022.

Prices hit record highs

The average price of diesel fuel in the US, which powers trucks, trains, ships and farm equipment, topped $6 (about 125 crowns) per gallon (3.8 liters) for the first time on Thursday. The figures come from GasBuddy, a service that tracks fuel price trends.

The price increase is becoming one of the key issues ahead of the November congressional elections, in which Trump's Republicans are projected to lose ground to the opposition Democrats, Bloomberg reports.

The fuel price issue could prove especially sensitive in Maine, which has the highest share of households in the country using heating oil, as well as in agricultural states such as Ohio, Kansas and Iowa.

What Iran has to do with it

Trump, who has been engaged in a standoff with Iran since late February — a conflict that has, among other things, notably restricted oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz — also claimed that the global fuel shortage is caused "not by the Middle East, but by what's happening between Russia and Ukraine."

According to a preliminary Russian government forecast seen by Reuters, the war has forced Russia to lower its oil production estimate for this year to its lowest level in 17 years, and it has also revised its fuel export forecasts for 2026 and 2027.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz