Bessent says Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy sites are driving global prices higher
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy infrastructure were contributing to an ongoing “energy shock” and creating upward pressure on prices globally.
Bessent made the remarks in an interview with Fox News while discussing the high cost of living in the United States.
“We are going through an energy shock right now due to both the war in Ukraine, because Ukraine has decided that they want to blow up Russian energy assets and refined products,” Bessent said. “So that is creating upward price pressure on a global basis.”
He cited the conflict with Iran as another factor contributing to the energy shock, saying he expected prices to fall once that conflict ended.
Ukraine has repeatedly targeted Russian oil refineries and other energy facilities in an effort to reduce Moscow's ability to finance and sustain its war.
Recent Ukrainian strikes have significantly disrupted Russia's refining capacity. The Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez refinery, Russia's fourth-largest and its second-largest gasoline producer, halted operations following a Ukrainian drone attack on Aug. 26.
Reuters previously reported that all of Lukoil's major Russian refineries had been knocked offline by damage, while Russian gasoline production had fallen to about 70% of domestic demand.