Washington Examiner
· collected 2026-10-08 · by Christopher Tremoglie
High diesel fuel costs continue to impact the U.S., with the national average price reaching $6.28 per gallon on Wednesday, according to AAA—a significant increase from just a month ago at $5.90 and even more compared to last year's $3.68. While much of the blame for these high prices has been placed on tensions between Iran and the U.S., the article argues that the Russia-Ukraine war is also a major contributor, particularly due to Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian oil refineries in September. Kenneth Gillingham, an environmental and energy economics professor at Yale University, confirms this, noting how disruptions from these strikes have exacerbated diesel price increases by tightening refined products markets globally.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-08,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
High diesel gas prices continue to hamper the nation on Thursday despite President Donald Trump’s recent executive order to suspend “diesel fuel tax payment obligations” to help mitigate the expensive current costs for diesel fuel.
asserted
prices → continue → fuel
The national average price for a gallon of diesel has soared in recent months, hurting many truckers, farmers, and other sectors vital to the nation’s economy.
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price → soar → economy
Many have blamed the military conflict between the United States and Iran for high diesel fuel costs.
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Many → blame → costs
While certainly a contributing factor, it is dishonest to omit the role that the Russia-Ukraine war has played in the high diesel prices.
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war → contribute → prices
The current national average price for a gallon of diesel fuel on Wednesday was $6.28, according to AAA.
uncertain
price → accord → AAA
It’s even more substantial than a year ago, when the national average price was just $3.68 per gallon.
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price → ’ → gallon
Additionally, the national average price has increased by more than $2.50 per gallon since the military conflict with Iran began in February.
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conflict → increase → February
It has slightly decreased over the last week, dropping from $6.41 per gallon a week ago, but even with the recent drop, the national average price for a gallon of diesel fuel is still at a record high.
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price → decrease → high
In California, a gallon of diesel costs $8.35 per gallon, an exceedingly high price point that is unprecedented.
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that → cost → gallon
As mentioned above, despite the main narrative surrounding high diesel fuel costs, the surge in pricing goes beyond the Iran war.
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surge → mention → war
Blockades in the Strait of Hormuz and damage to oil refineries in the region have increased costs due to interruptions to oil tanker transportation and refineries’ inability to process the conversion of raw oil into diesel fuel.
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Blockades → increase → fuel
This has caused Russia to significantly decrease its oil exports and increase its imports, which has widely contributed to the surge in prices.
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which → cause → prices
However, this is often glossed over or outright ignored by legacy media reporting on high diesel fuel costs.
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this → gloss → costs
In doing so, the people are not hearing the entire truth about an issue that negatively affects their finances.
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that → do → finances
Kenneth Gillingham, professor of environmental and energy economics at Yale University, explained how the Russia-Ukraine war plays a vital role in the record-high diesel fuel costs.
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war → explain → costs
He noted the significance of the Ukrainian drone strikes on Russia in late September when explaining the current high diesel prices.
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He → note → prices
“The increase in diesel prices is indeed in part due to the conflicts in the Middle East, and the recent jump most directly relates to further disruptions in the Bab el Mandeb strait, as well as some further disruptions from drone strikes
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jump → relate → strikes
,” Gillingham told the Washington Examiner.
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Gillingham → tell → Examiner
“The tightening of the refined products markets has been exacerbated by the drone strikes in Russia as well.”
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tightening → exacerbate → Russia
“Diesel prices are increasing in part due to the war in Ukraine for a few reasons,” he added.
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he → increase → reasons
“One is that crude oil exploration and extraction have been hindered, tightening the overall crude oil market relative to what it would have been.
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it → hinder → market
But that’s a longer-run factor.
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that → ’ → ?
The short-run factor is that Ukraine has been getting some traction in its campaign to damage Russian refineries.
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Ukraine → get → refineries
This has flipped Russia from being an exporter of diesel fuel to an importer.”
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This → flip → importer
The damage by Ukrainian drones on Russian refineries has forced refineries to “operate offline.”
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damage → force → refineries
In September, damage from Ukraine’s drone strikes was so severe that three of Russia’s largest oil refineries, Kirishi, NORSI, and Volgograd, were either shut down entirely or operating at just 25% of full operations.
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three → shut → operations
As a result, Russia extended its ban on diesel exports through Oct. 31, causing global diesel supplies to “tighten” and forcing countries to seek alternative arrangements to obtain diesel fuel.
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supplies → extend → fuel
Ukraine has the right to defend itself against Russian aggression, and attacking the petrostate’s energy resources is a savvy move.
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attacking → have → resources
Nor should there be calls for Ukraine to stop striking Russia’s oil refineries solely because of the jolt in the global diesel market.
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Ukraine → stop → market
Instead, Russia should abandon its military conquest of Ukraine.
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Russia → abandon → Ukraine
Nevertheless, the longer Ukraine keeps hitting Russian oil refineries, the longer diesel will remain unaffordable.
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diesel → keep → refineries
The same goes for the Iranian conflict.
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same → go → conflict
When discussing the current high-stakes tension involving diesel prices, Gillingham noted the relevance of both conflicts in the diesel economic turmoil.
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Gillingham → discuss → turmoil
“Both events in the Middle East and Russia caused the spike in diesel prices,” Gillingham told the Washington Examiner.
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Gillingham → cause → Examiner
“When the market is already very tight with nearly all refineries working completely at capacity around the world (97% utilization rate in the U.S.!).
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refineries → work → U.S.
It doesn’t take too much in the way of disruptions to cause prices to spike.”
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prices → take → disruptions
Gillingham explained that this was interesting due to the fact that some refineries are actually running well below capacity, especially in Southeast Asia.
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refineries → explain → Asia
He noted that this was occurring largely because those refineries are unable to “get enough crude oil.”
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refineries → note → oil
“It would not be correct to say that the drone strikes in Ukraine are the primary reason for the diesel price spikes here in the U.S.,” Gillingham noted.
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Gillingham → say → U.S.
Note the level of disruptions in the Middle East is about three times larger than from Russia.
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level → note → Russia
…and 9 more, not listed.
The Aporia
