Ukraine Should Keep Striking Russian Refineries, Kellogg Says

Retired General Keith Kellogg, the former US special envoy for Ukraine, advised that Ukraine should persist with its long-range strikes against Russian oil refineries. Kellogg suggested that Moscow's proposal to supply diesel to international markets might be an effort to ease the pressure on its energy sector. He considered this proposal a strategy devised by Putin to thwart Ukrainian efforts to disrupt the Russian petrochemical infrastructure.

Kellogg expressed distrust in both Putin and Kirill Dmitriev, the Kremlin's special representative for economic affairs, asserting that Moscow's aim is to urge the US to pressure Kyiv into ceasing the strikes. Ukrainian forces consistently target Russian military-industrial facilities, while Russian forces target civilian infrastructure, including schools and churches.

By maintaining strikes on Russian industrial sites, Ukraine effectively brings the war's harsh realities to Russian soil, according to Kellogg. He doubts the Russian military's capability to capture the remainder of Ukraine's Donetsk region. This assessment unfolds as there is a growing controversy in Washington following US President Donald Trump's endorsement of a bilateral commercial agreement with Putin to provide Russian diesel to US and global buyers.

Trump defended this arrangement and criticized President Volodymyr Zelensky, contending that Zelensky is creating chaos in global agricultural and commercial transport markets. Trump reiterated his calls for political changes in Kyiv, suggesting that Zelensky has had multiple opportunities to settle the war but chose not to. He advocated for a new president in Ukraine.

The diesel agreement was announced on October 9, following a call between Trump and Putin and during multilateral talks in Miami. Under the terms of the deal, Moscow agreed to deliver over 300,000 metric tons of diesel, escalating to 500,000 tons in November and 1 million tons thereafter, potentially reaching 3 million tons depending on refinery operations.