Story summary
On September 14, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine is ready to halt strikes on Russia if its partners ensure Moscow will refrain from hitting Ukrainian energy facilities and infrastructure. However, Zelenskyy expressed doubt about Russia's willingness to adhere to any agreement, emphasizing the need for a reliable long-term deal with real impact on people’s lives.
The day before, US President Donald Trump claimed that Ukraine and Russia had agreed not to hit each other's energy targets in an effort to mitigate rising global fuel prices. Zelenskyy later clarified that Ukraine was willing to reciprocate but needed assurances from "partners," likely referring to the U.S., that Russia would genuinely refrain from striking Ukrainian critical infrastructure.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin welcomed Trump’s call on Ukraine to halt strikes on Russian diesel facilities, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stating that any such call could be welcomed. However, he also noted that the upheaval in global energy markets was mainly due to conflicts in the Gulf region rather than the Russia-Ukraine war.
As tensions escalated and fuel prices soared past $6 per gallon, Trump's claims were met with skepticism from both Ukrainian and Russian sides, with no official confirmation of an agreement as of September 14.
Written for “Ukraine Russia Energy Strikes Trump” on 2026-09-14,
grounded in this article and the 31 other(s) covering the same event.
Oil prices have climbed above $108 a barrel after a series of drone attacks from Iraq’s territory forced Saudi Arabia to close its east-west crude pipeline.
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series → climb → pipeline
Saudi traders said the kingdom would run out of oil stocks for export if it did not reopen within days.
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it → say → days
Gas prices also climbed higher.
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prices → climb → ?
Energy prices have surged this year, as the US-Israel war with Iran has disrupted oil and gas supply across the Middle East.
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war → surge → East
The spike came as the Iran-aligned Houthi forces in Yemen launched several attacks against Saudi Arabia and captured the strategic island of Perim in the Bab al-Mandab strait on Sunday, expanding their control of the waterway.
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Where did the attack on Saudi Arabia come from?
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attack → come → Arabia
Iraq’s government confirmed the attacks were launched from its territory and ordered an investigation.
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attacks → confirm → investigation
Baghdad is under mounting pressure to stop militant groups – including those backed by Saudi Arabia’s regional rival Iran – launching attacks on Gulf countries from Iraqi soil.
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groups → mount → soil
The US president, Donald Trump, said he believed Tehran was responsible.
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Tehran → say → ?
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Why has Saudi Arabia been relying on its east-west pipeline?
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Arabia → rely → pipeline
Riyadh has increased the use of the 745-mile pipeline since the start of the war on Iran in order to bypass the strait of Hormuz’s closure.
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Riyadh → increase → closure
The world’s biggest exporter has used the pipeline to reroute about 4m barrels a day – about 4% of global supply – but with the pipeline out of service, the Red Sea port of Yanbu now has stocks to maintain exports for just five to seven days.
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port → use → days
AI-linked stocks take hit as leading US tech CEOs back calls to put brakes on ‘reckless’ AI development
AI-linked stocks have tumbled after the bosses of Anthropic, OpenAI and SpaceX called for a slowdown in “reckless” development, citing fears the technology could soon run out of control.
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technology → link → control
The market swings come after the chief executive of Anthropic, Dario Amodei, appealed for the AI industry to “slow down”.
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industry → come → Anthropic
Last week, a former Anthropic employee had warned that AI could precipitate human extinction by 2030.
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AI → warn → 2030
The respective CEOs of OpenAI and SpaceX, Sam Altman and Elon Musk, have backed Amodei’s call.
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CEOs → back → call
The US president, Donald Trump, on a visit to his golf course in Ireland, played down the warnings and said “very negative forces” were “bringing up things that won’t happen”.
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that → play → things
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What is the Anthropic CEO proposing?
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CEO → propose → What
Robert Booth explains Amodei’s suggestion: first, each US AI company grants access to third-party evaluators; second, all companies in democratic countries establish common safety standards; and third, the world’s democratic AI powers coordinate with autocracies – notably China – to control the race.
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powers → explain → race
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How has Barack Obama intervened over AI?
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Obama → intervene → AI
The former US president made a direct appeal to Democrats to coalesce around a unified AI safety policy, arguing that waiting for voluntary compliance from tech firms was a recipe for governance failure.
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waiting → make → failure
Israel accused of trying to ‘eliminate’ living conditions for Palestinians in West Bank
Israel is working towards the systematic “elimination” of the conditions that sustain Palestinian collective life in the occupied West Bank, according to a report published by the human rights group B’Tselem.
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that → accuse → group
The Israeli organisation says Israel is “dramatically intensifying its attacks on every aspect of Palestinian life in the West Bank”.
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Israel → say → Bank
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How does the report say Israel is making life intolerable?
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life → say → ?
“Palestinian communities are being pushed out in an accelerating process of ethnic cleansing, while an ever-expanding Israeli presence is being established …
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presence → push → cleansing
Elimination in this context means sustained harm to the conditions that enable Palestinians to exist as a people with land, institutions, language, culture, social ties, leadership, shared memory and history, and a social and political horizon.
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that → mean → land
Wisconsin congressman swims to safety after plane makes emergency landing in lake
A Republican congressman said he had to swim to safety after a plane he was traveling in made an emergency landing in a lake late Saturday.
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he → swim → lake
Tom Tiffany is running for governor on the Republican ticket in Wisconsin and has been endorsed by Donald Trump.
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Tiffany → run → Trump
Tiffany says he was returning from the La Crosse county Lincoln Day Dinner when the light aircraft lost power as it approached Wausau downtown airport.
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it → say → airport
He said the pilot made an emergency landing in Lake Wausau and they ended up in the water and swam to safety.
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they → say → safety
Emergency responders got Tiffany and the pilot to a nearby hospital, where they were treated for minor injuries.
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they → get → injuries
In other news …
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Sweden’s centre-left parties lead the country’s national election by just a single seat with most votes counted.
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votes → lead → seat
The election authority said a preliminary vote count may not be ready until Thursday.
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count → say → Thursday
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Donald Trump has doubled down on his controversial pledge to give US adults a $5,000 “dividend” if the Republican party keeps control of Congress after the midterms.
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party → double → midterms
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A San Jose police officer has been fired for using his department’s Flock license plate tracking system to share the location of a woman with the suspect accused of abusing her.
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officer → fire → her
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A coroner in Pennsylvania has announced the death of a 40-year-old woman associated with the state’s ongoing measles outbreak.
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coroner → announce → outbreak
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A newly unveiled statue of the rightwing activist Charlie Kirk was vandalized at the Turning Point USA headquarters.
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statue → unveil → headquarters
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Sydney Sweeney has been accused of “sexualising women’s sport” by appearing naked in a sports betting prediction ad.
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Sweeney → accuse → ad
Stat of the day: Who are the 514 people accused of starting French wildfires and what motivates them?
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what → accuse → them
Jon Henley reports from France where experts believe one-third of wildfires are set deliberately, with arson the biggest single cause of forest fires last year.
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arson → report → fires
While Puerto Ricans protest for reliable access to water, the governor washes her hands
Coral Murphy Marcos speaks to members of the Coalición Exigimos Agua (We Demand Water Coalition), residents of the San Juan neighborhood of Santurce, who are campaigning over the island’s water issues.
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who → protest → issues
…and 10 more, not listed.
