Updated

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil infrastructure are contributing to a global energy shock and pushing up fuel prices worldwide. The comments come amid ongoing Ukrainian drone campaigns targeting Russian refineries and energy facilities. Bessent made the remarks after meeting with Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov on the sidelines of a G20 finance ministers gathering in North Carolina — the first such invitation extended to Siluanov since the start of the war. The meeting and subsequent comments suggest a notable, if limited, thaw in US-Russia economic contacts even as Washington publicly attributes rising energy prices to Ukraine's strikes rather than Russian actions.