DOMINANT ANGLE
Stockholm is deciphering Trump's admission about diesel: the price of Swedish fuel is as much due to the war in Ukraine as to the lesser-admitted one against Iran.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
Trump wrote on Monday on Truth Social that "Russia has lost control of its diesel industry" due to the war in Ukraine, with a large number of Russian refineries out of service after strikes.
- 02
According to the Financial Times, Trump asked Zelensky by phone on Sunday to stop attacks on Russian refineries, a request already made publicly a few weeks earlier.
- 03
Zelensky responded on X that Ukraine's energy sector, critical infrastructure, and food exports must stop being targeted by Russia, in exchange for a "corresponding de-escalation" on the Ukrainian side.
ANALYSIS
Stockholm, September 22, 2026. The Swedish press first notes an unusual admission by Donald Trump. On Truth Social, on Monday, the American president wrote that "Russia has unfortunately lost control of its diesel industry due to its war against Ukraine", adding that a large number of Russian refineries have been targeted by strikes and are, at least temporarily, out of service. For Aftonbladet and Svenska Dagbladet, which pick up the same dispatch, the interest of the phrase lies in what it omits: Trump avoids linking the surge in fuel prices to the war he himself waged against Iran alongside Israel, a war that has blocked part of the oil and gas transport in the Strait of Hormuz. However, it is indeed this blockade, as much as the Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries, that weighs on Swedish pumps.
According to the Financial Times, cited by Swedish titles, Trump asked Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday by phone to cease attacks on Russian refineries, a request already made publicly a few weeks earlier. Zelensky responded on X that a "dialogue" is ongoing with Washington, posing a condition: that the energy sector, critical infrastructure, and Ukraine's food exports cease to be Russian targets, which would lead to "corresponding de-escalation" on the Ukrainian side. "Solutions are possible", he added, specifying that the issue will be discussed with Kiev's allies at the UN General Assembly this week.
Expressen notes, on its part, that Trump seems to have taken note of the extent of Ukrainian attacks on the Russian oil industry, going so far as to judge that Putin has "lost control". Zelensky is to meet Trump on Tuesday afternoon, New York time, according to an AFP source cited by Aftonbladet.
In this landscape, the Macron-Trump meeting on Monday, in New York, occupies a secondary place in Swedish headlines: Macron judged the discussion "very good" and "very constructive", mentioning the Red Sea and the war in Ukraine, but without the Swedish press detailing the French proposal for a moratorium on energy strikes. The retained angle remains that of the price at the pump, closer to the Swedish wallet than to Parisian diplomacy.
