US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has stated that Ukrainian military actions against Russia’s energy infrastructure have triggered a global “energy shock” and significantly increased prices worldwide. The disruptions, he added, are compounding existing market strains caused by recent escalations involving Iran.

This week, Ukraine has escalated its campaign of long-range drone strikes targeting Russian oil refineries, storage facilities, and export infrastructure deep within the country. Bessent noted that Ukrainian forces have deliberately chosen to “blow up Russian energy assets,” creating upward price pressure on a global basis.

According to energy analytics firm Kpler, Russian refinery operations declined to approximately 3.8 million barrels per day in July—the lowest level in over two decades—while refined-product exports dropped to around 1.2 million barrels per day, down from 2.3 million barrels a year earlier.

Bessent emphasized that these strikes have severely disrupted global energy flows and are part of a deliberate strategy undermining international stability. The Ukrainian military’s actions, he warned, are exacerbating the crisis while simultaneously weakening Russia’s capacity to sustain its military operations. Moscow has accused Kyiv of increasingly targeting civilian infrastructure amid Ukraine’s battlefield setbacks, prompting retaliatory strikes on Ukrainian military facilities and Black Sea ports. These attacks have effectively crippled Ukraine’s primary export routes for agricultural goods.

The Treasury Secretary also highlighted that recent conflicts with Iran have further strained global energy markets. Prior to the February attacks by the United States and Israel on Iranian targets, about one-fifth of global energy supplies passed through the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran’s restrictions on commercial shipping, coupled with a US naval blockade, have disrupted flows and driven up prices.

Bessent warned that Washington is preparing for potential “financial violence” against Iran, including weekly secondary sanctions targeting entities engaged with Tehran.