Rubio reports strikes by Ukraine on ships linked to the US
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that over the past few months Ukraine has struck ships linked to the US and American oil supplies several times. According to him, Washington does not consider it proven that these facilities were attacked deliberately, but expects this problem to be resolved.
Rubio said this in an interview with Fox News, a fragment of which was published by the US State Department.
"There is one thing that concerns us: over the last few months, in a number of instances, US-linked ships and American oil supplies have become targets - probably not intentionally, but nevertheless they were attacked by Ukraine. And this issue needs to be resolved. We cannot allow this to happen", - the Secretary of State said.
Rubio did not name the specific ships or episodes he was talking about, and did not provide evidence of deliberate targeting of American interests. Earlier, Washington had already expressed concern about strikes near the infrastructure of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium in Novorossiysk, among whose shareholders are American Chevron and ExxonMobil.
According to Rubio, strikes in the Black Sea area, together with the war in the Middle East and the actions of the Houthis, have become important factors in the rise of energy prices. At the same time, he acknowledged Kyiv's argument that Ukraine is responding to constant Russian missile and drone attacks.
The statement came ahead of the planned meeting between US President Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy in New York on September 22 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. One of the central topics of the talks, according to The Guardian, is expected to be a possible mutual moratorium by Ukraine and Russia on strikes on energy infrastructure.
The issue of Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries has become a separate topic in Kyiv-Washington relations in recent weeks. During a phone call with Zelenskyy on September 20, Trump, according to Axios, repeatedly asked to stop attacks on Russian refineries, linking them to the global shortage of diesel fuel. Earlier, Trump himself publicly called on Ukraine "not to hit diesel" in Russia.
This topic is especially sensitive for the White House amid record diesel prices in the US: in September, its average cost exceeded $6 per gallon. The American administration has repeatedly cited damage to Russian refining capacity as one of the factors in the diesel shortage, although the situation in the global market is simultaneously worsened by the war with Iran, shipping problems, and attacks on Middle East energy infrastructure.
On the eve, French President Emmanuel Macron said he had already discussed with Trump the possibility of a mutual moratorium by Ukraine and Russia on strikes on energy facilities. Zelenskyy himself stated that Ukraine is ready for mirrored de-escalation if Russia stops attacks on Ukrainian energy, critical infrastructure, and exports.
Based on materials from: US State Department / Fox News, The Guardian, Fox News
