Trump pressures Zelensky in phone call ahead of New York meeting: “oil, oil… oil” — halt strikes on Russian refineries

US President Donald Trump has pressed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to halt Ukraine’s strikes on Russian oil refineries, ahead of their meeting this week in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, the Financial Times reports.

In a phone call, Trump’s main message, according to a senior Ukrainian official, was “oil, oil… oil”. The US president told Zelensky that the relentless strikes on refineries — from St. Petersburg to Siberia — are driving up prices and deepening global energy shortages.

According to the data, a Russian refinery has been hit on average once every three days during the first eight months of 2026. The International Energy Agency reports that Russia’s oil refining output is at its lowest level in over 20 years, while diesel production has fallen by nearly 30 percent over the past year and gasoline by 20 percent.

The call came hours after Ukrainian drones struck Moscow’s only oil refinery, in what Russian authorities called the largest attack on the city since the start of the war in 2022.

Zelensky and Trump have agreed to meet in New York. The Ukrainian leader said the meeting “could change a lot”, signaling the importance of the talks for the future of American support.

Source: Financial Times