Russia Airs Rare Footage of Refinery Strike as Trump Blames Ukraine for High Fuel Prices

MOSCOW: Russia has publicly acknowledged a Ukrainian drone attack on one of its largest oil refineries and broadcast images of the aftermath on state television, a sharp departure from its usual practice that appears aimed at highlighting a strike US President Donald Trump has condemned as a disgrace.

The regional governor identified the Ryazan refinery as the target of Thursday’s attack. State TV footage showed a small column of black smoke rising from the site, with no visible fire. It was the first time since the start of the war that Russian state television has shown the aftermath of a refinery strike. Moscow has typically played down such attacks, with officials often referring to the targets only as industrial enterprises.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that recent Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries had not caused significant damage, and vowed that Moscow would respond.

The attacks have become a point of friction between Washington and Kyiv. Trump, under pressure to bring down fuel prices with his Republican Party facing midterm elections in less than three weeks, has blamed Ukraine’s strikes on Russian refineries for pushing up global prices. Diesel prices have climbed to record highs since the United States launched its war against Iran in February. Trump warned at the weekend that the attacks must stop, and in an interview broadcast on Thursday described Ukraine’s resumption of the strikes as a disgrace.

Trump and Putin have also announced an agreement on Russian diesel exports to US and global markets, which they say is intended to ease prices.

Ukraine says it suspended its refinery strikes for three days out of deference to Trump, but resumed them because Russia continued to attack Ukrainian thermal power plants and other energy infrastructure.