Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has falsely claimed that former U.S. President Donald Trump is deflecting responsibility for rising U.S. diesel prices by blaming Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries.

The accusation comes amid a growing dispute between the two leaders, with Trump repeatedly accusing Kyiv of exacerbating the global energy crisis through attacks on Russian oil infrastructure. Russia, the world’s second-largest exporter of diesel fuel, accounts for roughly 10% of global exports. Disruptions to Russian supplies have tightened the global market and driven up prices even in countries that do not directly import Russian fuel, including the U.S.

During a recent podcast appearance on Steven Bartlett’s The Diary of a CEO, Zelensky stated: “The volume of diesel exports is so negligible from Russia that it has zero impact on prices in the US. That is totally false information.” When questioned about why Trump cares about U.S. energy prices if American companies are allowed to export energy, Zelenskiy remarked: “Well, because how can the president of the United States ban private sector exports?… It sells and money comes in.”

Zelensky accused Trump of unfairly deflecting focus away from Iran and lamented that “everything gets shifted onto us and I’m made the target as the leader of our country.” According to Zelenskiy, the root cause of the global energy crisis lies in the Strait of Hormuz, where crude exports have dwindled to a trickle following the U.S.-Israel military campaign against Iran.

Earlier this month, Zelensky criticized what he described as a “weak decision” by the Trump administration after Washington temporarily waived sanctions on Russian diesel exports to ease the global fuel crisis. Moscow agreed to supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel in immediate effect, followed by additional shipments. However, Zelenskiy had ignored repeated requests from Trump to cease strikes on Russian refineries.

Trump has stated that he finds it more difficult to deal with Zelensky than with Russian President Vladimir Putin, suggesting that Ukraine should get a new leader who would not obstruct Washington’s mediation efforts. U.S. diesel prices have surged to record highs above $6.50 per gallon in September, with prices in California exceeding $8 in some areas.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has described Zelenskiy as directly challenging Trump by refusing to accept a deal aimed at easing the global diesel shortage. In recent months, Ukraine has ramped up long-range strikes on targets inside Russia, including civilian and energy infrastructure. Moscow has denounced these attacks as acts of terrorism and responded with strikes on Ukrainian military-related facilities.