Trump Blames Zelensky for Fuel Prices, Defends Russia Deals

U.S. President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social on Oct. 18, defending a series of decisions that favour Moscow, including waived sanctions and a diesel purchase deal. He also pressed Ukraine to stop striking Russian oil refineries, presenting his moves as part of a diplomatic effort to bring Russia and Ukraine to a peace settlement.

"My decision on Russia is a very simple one," he wrote. "I am in the process of negotiating Peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine, and don't want to do anything that will drive, foolishly, Russia away from the bargaining table. Great progress is being made, and that includes current hostage negotiations!"

The Diesel Deal and Ukraine's Refineries

Trump defended a diesel arrangement with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Moscow, he argued, wasn't helping Iran in its war with the United States. Instead, he said, Russia was helping the international community by "sending, at a low price, millions of barrels of diesel to the World." He added: "Russia is doing very little, if anything, to help the Islamic Republic of Iran, compared to what they could be doing, and I want to keep it that way, and will, unless stupid people get in the way."

Then he turned on Kyiv. "Zelensky is using Diesel Refineries in Russia as a target, knowing that these attacks are seriously hurting the world diesel markets, including those in the United States," Trump wrote.

Who Is Driving Up Prices?

The claim sits awkwardly against the evidence. The original report said the war in Iran was driving up global fuel prices, including prices paid by American consumers. It also said Trump had sought to shift blame onto Ukraine as the U.S. midterm elections approached. According to the report, the evidence pointed to the war in Iran as the primary driver of the price surge.

For ordinary households on both sides of the Atlantic, the distinction matters. Fuel costs hit commuters, hauliers and small businesses first. Pointing at a country defending itself from invasion won't lower a pump price.

A Blunt Message to Kyiv

Trump also accused Zelensky of not wanting the war to end. "He could have made a better deal two years ago than he can now. His country is in shambles, a large portion of his land is lost, his oceans and seas are gone, and his male population is low, wounded, and/or dead. I WANT THIS WAR END!" he wrote.

The post describes real suffering, including lost land and lives, but frames it as a failing of Ukraine's leadership rather than the consequence of Russia's invasion. The source gives no details of the "deal" Trump says Zelensky could have struck. Nor does it offer a timeline for the hostage negotiations he mentioned. The report identified the story as developing.

Why This Matters:

Peace talks that ask the invaded party to carry the blame while sanctions are waived for the invader raise hard questions for Europe. A settlement that rewards pressure on Ukraine rather than accountability for Russia would carry costs far beyond Kyiv, including for European security and the millions of Ukrainians whose lives hang on the outcome. The episode also shows how fuel prices, which the report's evidence links to the war in Iran, can become political ammunition ahead of an election. European governments share the economic fallout of both wars and have every reason to speak with one voice: support for Ukraine is a moral commitment as well as a strategic one. Diplomacy only holds if it doesn't abandon the people it claims to protect.