New Delhi, Sept. 21 -- US President Donald Trump called his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday in order to persuade Kyiv to halt its attacks on Russia's oil refinery centres, a move that Trump thinks could further deepen the global diesel shortage and the consequential price increase, Financial Times reported citing people familiar with the matter.

Trump's message to Zelensky was about "diesel, diesel . . . diesel" and he has urged the latter to stop drone and missile attacks on key Russian oil infrastructure, a senior official who was on the call with the two leaders told the publication.

Trump is worried about the price rise of diesel and wants to ensure that Russian oil is reaching the global m...