Tensions between Ukraine and the US have increased over Ukrainian attacks on oil refineries deep in Russian territory, The Washington Post writes.
US Vice President Kamala Harris told Volodymyr Zelensky at the Munich Security Conference in February something he didn't want to hear: refrain from attacking Russian oil refineries.
The US believes that this will raise global energy prices, and may also provoke a more aggressive response from Russia. Such a request is strange because for the third year now, the Russian army has been waging a full-scale war against Ukraine, killing Ukrainian civilians and destroying cities, villages and the country's infrastructure.
According to sources familiar with the matter, the American call has irritated Zelensky and his team, who are counting on precisely such strikes to bring the war to Russian territory and for Russian citizens to realize the abyss into which Vladimir Putin's regime is pushing them.
Zelensky has flatly rejected the Americans' request and what's more: Ukrainian services have stepped up attacks on oil refineries on Russian soil. They even managed to hit targets 1,300 kilometers away.
This topic has exacerbated already strained relations between the US and Ukraine. For months, Republicans in Congress have blocked the release of $60 billion in military aid to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, while Kiev has made it clear that it could lose more territory if it doesn't get that support.
Ukraine accuses the Biden administration of watching its domestic politics and gas prices while Europe is fighting the biggest war since World War II. While Russia is attacking the oil, gas and energy sector of the Ukrainians, why shouldn't the Ukrainians attack the Russian oil, gas and energy sector?
Washington's logic is that these attacks do not directly affect what is happening on the front militarily. US resistance to attacks on oil refineries has angered officials in Kiev, who see the strikes as legitimate amid unprovoked Russian aggression. They believe the strikes are necessary to raise the costs of Russian aggression and to convince Russian society that it will not be safe until the war is over.
Experts say U.S. fears of rising prices are unfounded, and if they do rise, it will be because of instability related to Israel and “Hamas”, not Ukraine. Moreover, Washington's position contrasts with that of Europe's NATO allies, who barely conceal their satisfaction with the Ukrainian campaign.