Trump says Russia, Ukraine agree to avoid energy targets as fuel prices rise

President Trump said Monday that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to avoid energy targets in their ongoing war as global fuel prices rise.

“Ukraine has agreed not to hit Russian Energy targets. Russia has agreed to do likewise!” Trump wrote on Truth Social .

The post comes as both gasoline and diesel prices are rising worldwide. Refining capacity shortages are a factor in the high prices, as global conflicts take out refineries.

U.S. diesel prices recently crossed $6 per gallon for the first time ever and averaged $6.23 per gallon on Monday, according to AAA. Gasoline prices averaged about $4.32 per gallon.

The high prices have created issues for the White House going into the midterms. Trump, in his post, sought to distance his administration and its decision to go to war with Iran from the issue.

“The World’s Diesel price rise is mostly caused by the Russia/Ukraine War, not Iran,” he said.

In a social media post of his own , Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his nation “is not convinced that Russia is willing to abide by any agreement.”

“If our partners are ready to ensure that Russia genuinely refrains from striking our electricity system, other energy facilities, critical infrastructure, and food supply routes, then, of course, we are ready to ensure a corresponding halt to our strikes,” Zelensky wrote, adding, “We expect specifics from our partners.”

Experts have said that the Russia-Ukraine conflict is playing a part, but it’s not the only thing driving up prices, as Middle East instability is also factor.

“Average gasoline and diesel prices rose in every state over the last week as geopolitical tensions escalated on multiple fronts, with friction between the U.S. and Iran, new hostilities in the Red Sea, and the shutdown of Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline all combining to jolt prices sharply higher,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy in a statement posted online . “New weekend attacks also knocked two additional Russian refineries offline, further straining global refined product supplies and likely offsetting any seasonal relief.”

Laura Kelly contributed. Updated at 12:38 p.m. EDT