US diesel just hit the highest price in the fuel’s history — $6.51 a gallon Sunday, surpassing the previous record of $5.816 set in June 2022. Trump used the milestone to push harder for an end to the Russia-Ukraine war specifically — still without mentioning the Iran war that’s been the larger driver of this year’s price spike.
Previously: Diesel Hits $6.20 As Trump Points At Ukraine Over His Own Iran War
“Russia has unfortunately lost control of its Diesel Oil Industry due to its War with Ukraine. A large number of their Diesel refineries have been blown up and are, at least temporarily, out of commission,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Monday. “This ridiculous and never ending War with Ukraine must be ended.”
US President Donald Trump trying, quite hard, to put all the blame of the increase in diesel prices on the Ukraine-Russia war. He's not wrong that Kyiv's strikes at Russian refineries are part of the problem, although he's wrong in singling them out as all of the problem. pic.twitter.com/O7oVNV9iYF
— Javier Blas (@JavierBlas) September 21, 2026
Diesel has climbed more than 30 cents in the week since the original record, and GasBuddy shows it’s already topped $7 at roughly 10% of US stations. Ukraine launched a large-scale drone strike over the weekend that set a major oil refinery outside Moscow on fire, and Yemen’s Houthis claimed a separate attack on Saudi oil facilities. GasBuddy’s Patrick De Haan warned the volatility could keep pushing both fuels higher in the days ahead, calling the situation “continued chaos.”
Read: Thune Says He Is Open to Exploring a Ban on Diesel Exports
Sen. Chuck Grassley wants to know why Trump hasn’t reached for an export ban — a move with precedent, since Washington capped farm exports this way back in the 1970s — an idea Interior Secretary Doug Burgum already dismissed once, arguing it wouldn’t actually bring prices down.
The U.S. isn't short of diesel. The world is.
— Patrick De Haan (@GasBuddyGuy) September 21, 2026
So would banning U.S. diesel exports actually lower prices?
It might sound like an easy fix. But once you look at refinery economics and how fuel actually moves, the answer gets complicated.
Here's why: https://t.co/3uwB6ZHeDS