Ukraine will not attack ships with Russian diesel fuel heading to the US, Zelenskyy says

At the same time, commenting on the strikes on Russian oil refineries, Zelenskyy noted that the Ukrainian military has been “acting more cautiously” in recent days.

Ukraine will not attack ships carrying Russian diesel fuel heading to the United States. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a conversation with journalists, Ukrinform writes.

“Regarding the ships that left Russia for America: no one is touching these ships, because these are ships related to the United States,” he noted.

This concerns supplies within the framework of the so-called diesel deal. The US Treasury Department, on behalf of Donald Trump, issued a temporary general license that allows operations with diesel fuel of Russian origin, previously prohibited by American sanctions.

Commenting on the strikes on Russian oil refineries, Zelenskyy noted that the Ukrainian military has been acting more cautiously in recent days, but has not received an order to stop the strikes.

“These days, our guys have probably tried to be a little more careful. But they don’t have an order not to respond. There was the story with the Ryazan refinery. There were corresponding operations. We were engaged in data centers, places where Russian ballistics are concentrated — we responded to their painful strikes. And our responses, we expect, will also be felt by the Russians,” the president said.

He also confirmed that in early October, Ukraine stopped strikes on Russian refineries for three days as part of an attempt to de-escalate in the energy sector. According to Zelenskyy, Kyiv was repeatedly sent a signal not to strike these facilities.

Earlier, the president stated that the volumes offered by Russia would not significantly affect the world market, and suggested that there were other motives behind the US decision. Trump, however, publicly linked the diesel shortage precisely to the Ukrainian strikes, and not to the US war against Iran. The American Institute for the Study of War called the diesel deal a unilateral concession to the Kremlin.

Zelensky also stated that Ukraine is ready to stop attacks on Russian oil refining infrastructure if Russia abandons attacks on Ukrainian electricity.

As USM reported the day before, two of the three tankers heading to the US with Russian diesel fuel are under sanctions.