Trump calls Ukraine refinery attacks 'disgraceful'
Former US president claims strikes are raising global oil prices and criticises Ukrainian leadership.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Zelenskyi ja Trump keskustelivat New Yorkissa 22. syyskuuta YK:n yleiskokouksen aikana. Kuva: Brendan Smialowski / AFP
Photograph: yle (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Donald Trump called Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries "disgraceful" in a Newsmax interview.
- Trump claimed these strikes are increasing global oil prices.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky resumed attacks on Russian refineries after a three-day pause.
- Trump also criticised President Zelensky's willingness to negotiate and called for elections in Ukraine.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 19 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 14 of the 33 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
62/100
Craft
87/100
Hype
25/100
33 sources · methodology
Thin on the left so far
Only 3 of the 19 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Donald Trump has described Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries as "disgraceful". The former US president made the comments in an interview with Newsmax, stating that these strikes are raising global oil prices. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky decided to resume attacks on Russian refineries on Thursday, following a three-day pause. Zelensky had initially halted strikes on Russian energy targets to comply with Trump's wishes. However, Russia continued its own attacks on Ukrainian energy production during this period.
Disagreement on Zelensky's pause
Yle reports that President Zelensky paused attacks on Russian energy facilities to comply with Trump's wishes. Yle also states that Zelensky told The Financial Times that stopping energy strikes would encourage the US and Russia to make more energy deals. Other reports do not mention Zelensky's stated reasons for the pause or his comments to The Financial Times.
What the coverage left out
None of the right-rated digests mention that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told The Financial Times that stopping energy strikes would encourage the US and Russia to make more energy deals. The right-rated digests also do not mention that Russia continued its own attacks on Ukrainian energy production during the three-day pause in Ukrainian strikes.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 3 times, most recently on 16 Oct 2026, 03:15, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
3 rated outlets
- All three left‑rated outlets reported Trump’s Newsmax interview where he described the renewed strikes on Russian oil refineries as disgraceful and said Zelensky is harder to handle than Putin. Kyiv Post led on the interview, Le Monde’s digest repeated the same remarks, and fakti.bg’s digest echoed them.
- Kyiv Post added analyst commentary that the primary driver of the global price surge is the US‑Israel war with Iran, not the refinery attacks. It also noted Zelensky’s statement that the pause on attacks had ended and his call for a reciprocal energy ceasefire, linking the issue to broader NATO discussions.
- The digests from Le Monde and fakti.bg did not contain the analyst view or Zelensky’s comments that appear in Kyiv Post’s full report. None of the three left outlets mentioned any cost estimate for the strikes or presented a Russian perspective on the attacks.
Centre
3 rated outlets
- The centre-rated report from Yle led with Donald Trump calling Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries "disgraceful". It included Trump's claim that these strikes are harmful because they affect the production of diesel fuel needed by the US and the world. Yle's report also detailed that President Zelensky decided to resume refinery attacks after a three-day pause, stating that Zelensky had initially halted strikes to follow Trump's wishes. The report quoted Trump criticising Zelensky, saying it is difficult to cooperate with him and that he does not want to reach an agreement. Yle also reported Trump's view that Russia's larger population gave it a military advantage over Ukraine and that Ukraine should hold elections.
Right
13 rated outlets
- The right-rated reports focused on Donald Trump's criticism of Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil facilities and his claims about rising oil prices. Several digests noted Trump's statement that these attacks are "disgraceful" or a "disgrace". The right-rated reports also highlighted Trump's assertion that Ukraine's President Zelensky is provoking a rise in oil prices and questioned Zelensky's willingness to end the war. Some reports mentioned Trump calling for elections in Ukraine.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Trump calls Ukraine refinery attacks 'disgraceful'?
- Of the 19 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 16% are rated left, 16% are rated centre, 68% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 33. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Trump calls Ukraine refinery attacks 'disgraceful' left or right?
- Neither side dominates it. Of the 19 rated outlets on this story, 16% are rated left, 16% are rated centre, 68% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
- Is the coverage of Trump calls Ukraine refinery attacks 'disgraceful' biased?
- Trump calls Ukraine refinery attacks 'disgraceful' is one event reported by 33 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Trump calls Ukraine refinery attacks 'disgraceful'?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Trump calls Ukraine refinery attacks 'disgraceful'?
- 33 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What did Donald Trump say about Ukraine's attacks on Russian oil refineries?
- Donald Trump described the Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries as "disgraceful" in a Newsmax interview. He claimed these strikes are raising global oil prices and are harmful because they affect diesel fuel production.
- Did Ukraine pause its attacks on Russian refineries?
- Yes, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky decided to resume attacks on Russian refineries after a three-day pause. He had initially halted these strikes to comply with Donald Trump's wishes.
- What else did Donald Trump say about Ukraine?
- Donald Trump also criticised Ukrainian President Zelensky, stating it is difficult to cooperate with him and that he does not want to reach an agreement. Trump also suggested that Ukraine should hold elections.
Read it at the source
33 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
3Centre
3Right
13- Trump Slams Zelensky over Attacks on Russian Refineries: "Shame, It's Harder to Work with Him than with Putin" (opens Protothema in a new tab)
Protothema — is Protothema biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump Lashes Out at Zelensky After Attack on Russian Refineries (opens dagelijksestandaard.nl in a new tab)
dagelijksestandaard.nl — is dagelijksestandaard.nl biased? Our profile of this outlet
- "More Difficult to Work with Zelensky than with Putin": Trump Believes that Ukraine's Resumption of Strikes on Russian Refineries Is a "Hont" (opens Le Figaro in a new tab)
- Trump Condemned US Strikes on Russian NHPs, Despite US Requests. (opens EADaily in a new tab)
- Turn of the War: Trump Calls Ukrainian Attacks on Russian Refinery "a Shame" (opens Welt in a new tab)
- Trump Calls Ukrainian Attacks on Russia a Disgrace (opens BT in a new tab)
- Trump Considers Ukraine to Be "a Disgrace" to Resume Attacks on Russian Refineries (opens Clarin in a new tab)
- Trump Calls Ukrainian Attacks on Russia a Disgrace (opens berlingske.dk in a new tab)
berlingske.dk — is berlingske.dk biased? Our profile of this outlet
Show 5 more
- Trump calls renewed Ukraine attacks on Russian refineries ‘a disgrace’ (opens Free Malaysia Today News in a new tab)
Free Malaysia Today News — is Free Malaysia Today News biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump Again Accused Zelensky of Provoking a Rise in Oil Prices (opens Interfax.ru in a new tab)
Interfax.ru — is Interfax.ru biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump Calls Renewed Ukraine Attacks On Russian Refineries 'A Disgrace' (opens Deccan Chronicle in a new tab)
Deccan Chronicle — is Deccan Chronicle biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump Criticizes Zelenskyy over Refinery Strikes, Calls for Elections in Ukraine (opens Anadolu Ajansı in a new tab)
Anadolu Ajansı — is Anadolu Ajansı biased? Our profile of this outlet
- ‘I think that’s a disgrace’ — Trump slams Zelensky over refinery strikes (opens news-pravda.com in a new tab)
news-pravda.com — is news-pravda.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
Not rated
14- "I Find It a Shame": Trump Attacks Zelenski for Attacks on Refineries (opens noticiaslatam.lat in a new tab)
noticiaslatam.lat — is noticiaslatam.lat biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump Harshly Criticizes Zelensky over Attacks on Russia: Main Claims to Ukraine (opens 1news.com.ua in a new tab)
1news.com.ua — is 1news.com.ua biased? Our profile of this outlet
- "It's a Shame": Trump Complained About the Ukrainian Strikes on Russia's Refineries and Came Down with Criticism of Zelensky. (opens Обозреватель in a new tab)
Обозреватель
- Trump to Zelensky: Ukrainian Attacks on Russian Refineries Are a "Shame" (opens ΑΘΗΝΑ 9,84 in a new tab)
ΑΘΗΝΑ 9,84 — is ΑΘΗΝΑ 9,84 biased? Our profile of this outlet
- – A Shame, Says Trump About Ukraine's New Attack on Russian Refineries (opens Nettavisen in a new tab)
Nettavisen — is Nettavisen biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump Calls Ukraine’s Attacks on Russian Refineries “A Disgrace” (opens Jowhar Somali Leader in a new tab)
Jowhar Somali Leader — is Jowhar Somali Leader biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump Lashes Out at Zelensky After Attack on Russian Refineries (opens welingelichtekringen.nl in a new tab)
welingelichtekringen.nl — is welingelichtekringen.nl biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump Lashes Out at Zelensky After Attacks on Russian Raff (opens Nieuws.nl in a new tab)
Show 6 more
- Trump Considers Ukraine to Be “a Disgrace” to Resume Attacks on Russian Refineries (opens El Comercio in a new tab)
El Comercio — is El Comercio biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump Attacks Zelensky over Strikes on Russian Refineries (opens zougla.gr in a new tab)
- Trump Again Criticizes Zelensky for Strikes on Russian Refineries (opens Business Daily in a new tab)
Business Daily — is Business Daily biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump Calls Ukrainian Attacks on Russia a Disgrace (opens avisendanmark.dk in a new tab)
avisendanmark.dk — is avisendanmark.dk biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump to Zelensky: Ukrainian Attacks on Russian Refineries Are a "Shame" (opens ERT NEWS in a new tab)
- Trump Calls Ukraine's Strikes on Russian Oil Refineries a Disgrace (opens Apa in a new tab)
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