U.S. Treasury chief says Ukraine’s strikes on Russian oil facilities are driving up global energy prices

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has blamed Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian energy facilities for part of a global energy shock, putting the issue into an already heated debate over rising living costs in the United States.

Speaking to Fox News on September 2, Bessent said Ukraine’s attacks on Russian energy assets and refined petroleum products were helping push prices higher worldwide. He mentioned those strikes before turning to the effects of the conflict in Iran.

“We are experiencing an energy shock, due to the conflict in Ukraine, when Kyiv decided to strike Russian energy assets and refined products, putting pressure on prices on a global scale, and then the war in Iran,” Bessent said.

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We are experiencing an energy shock, due to the conflict in Ukraine, when Kyiv decided to strike Russian energy assets and refined products, putting pressure on prices on a global scale, and then the war in Iran.

His comments drew swift criticism online. Anton Gerashchenko, a former Ukrainian deputy interior minister, said the war in Iran had a “significantly greater” effect on energy markets than the attacks carried out by Kyiv to weaken Russia’s capabilities. In late July, Vice President JD Vance had also discussed the impact of Ukraine’s strikes with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Ukraine has continued launching deep drone attacks against oil facilities inside Russia in recent months. Moscow responded by extending its diesel export ban through the end of the month. Supplies have also tightened as the number of vessels carrying refined fuel through the Strait of Hormuz fell more sharply than crude-oil shipments.

U.S. diesel exports have surged to a record level to offset the shortfall, but domestic inventories have dropped to an alarming level. East Coast diesel reserves are now at a historic low as winter approaches. Retail gasoline prices remain above $4 per gallon, the highest recorded level for this point in the year, while diesel prices are also near historic peaks.

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Significantly greater