The United States has called on Ukraine to stop attacks on Russian energy infrastructure and warned that drone strikes could trigger retaliation and drive up global oil prices, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The attacks have contributed to a rise in oil prices, which have risen nearly 4 percent since March 12, when Ukraine first began targeting Russian energy infrastructure.
A further rise in gasoline prices in the United States would weaken President Joe Biden’s approval ratings and undermine his re-election prospects.
Russia and Ukraine have used drones to attack key infrastructure, military installations and troop concentrations in more than two years of war, with Kiev targeting Russian refineries and energy facilities in recent months.
Russia launched its biggest missile and drone attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure to date on Friday, hitting the country’s largest dam and causing power outages in several regions, authorities in Kyiv said.
The Ukrainian state hydropower company announced that the largest dam in Ukraine, DniproHES in Zaporizhzhia, was hit in the Russian attack, but that there was no danger of bursting, and the power infrastructure in other regions was also affected.
