'Stop knocking out diesel facility, it's causing shortage': Trump tells Zelensky to halt strikes on Russia

US President Donald Trump has urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to stop targeting diesel fuel in Russia, The Associated Press reported on Sunday. He said the attacks were causing a fuel shortage.

Asked by a reporter whether he had spoken with Zelenskyy after his recent conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump instead called on Ukraine to halt the strikes.

"Mr Zelensky has to do one thing. He has to stop knocking out diesel fuel in Russia," Trump told reporters. "Let him go after targets but not diesel fuel, because he's causing a shortage of diesel fuel."

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Ukraine has been using long-range strikes against Russia's oil and gas industry for months. Kyiv says the attacks target an industry that helps fund and directly fuel Moscow's more than four-year-old invasion of Ukraine.

The drone campaign has led to fuel rationing in parts of Russia, despite the country being a major oil and gas exporter. Other Ukrainian strikes have targeted major Russian online retailers.

Russia has also stepped up its air campaign against Ukraine in recent weeks, using ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones to penetrate Ukrainian defences. Russian attacks have also targeted Ukraine's power grid ahead of winter.

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More Russian Oil Facilities Hit

Civilians were killed and injured overnight into Sunday as Russia and Ukraine exchanged large-scale drone strikes. Two people were killed, and 14 were injured near an oil and industrial hub in Russia's Tatarstan, the report said.

Ukrainian authorities reported Russian drone attacks on the Black Sea port of Odesa and said a fire broke out near a border crossing with Poland. The two Russian civilians were killed after a drone struck a tree near their parked car in Nizhnekamsk.

Nizhnekamsk is home to a major cluster of oil refineries and petrochemical, rubber, and polymer plants, including some of Russia’s largest facilities.