The Week
Trump: the war is ridiculous. Diesel, diesel, diesel. Zelenskyy tomorrow.
Truth Social. Russia lost the diesel industry. AAA $6.51 a record. They meet at the U.N. Xi later this week.
The Rocket News · Washington Bureau · WashingtonSeptember 21, 2026 · 5 min read

President Trump posted it Monday on Truth Social: Russia has “unfortunately lost control of its Diesel Oil Industry.” A large number of refineries blown up, he said, at least temporarily out of commission. “This ridiculous and never ending War with Ukraine must be ended.” The whole world suffers, he wrote, as 25,000 people, mostly soldiers, are killed each month. The Politics desk files a president who made diesel the sentence, and a war he wants off the board before Xi lands.
Officials who were on Sunday’s call told the Financial Times the message was “diesel, diesel, diesel.” Trump pressed Volodymyr Zelenskyy to halt strikes on Russian refineries. Zelenskyy called it an important conversation and said their meeting in New York “could change a lot.” They meet Tuesday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. Chinese President Xi Jinping is due in Washington later this week. The Post: Trump begins the week increasingly isolated.
This ridiculous and never ending War with Ukraine must be ended.
AAA dated diesel at $6.5107 this morning — the highest recorded national average. Regular is $4.48. The Politics desk files Monday as it is: a ridiculous war, a record at the pump, and two meetings that have not happened yet.
Wire and further reading: latimes.com
Filed under Politics
Keep reading

The prices
Two-thirds said his policies fueled inflation.
The AP Voter Poll, about 100,000 midterm voters. Consumer prices are up 3.7% over 12 months. They were 3% when the term began. Trump said Wednesday he would fight the war again.

The midterms
Democrats took the House and the Senate.
The Associated Press called both chambers on Wednesday morning. It named seven Senate flips. This desk does not print a House seat total.

Election night
Cooper took the seat. Control is not called.
AP called North Carolina for Roy Cooper at 8:23 p.m. Eastern. Democrats still need three more Senate seats. This desk does not print a House net, and it does not print a second board.
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