U.S. politics pushing Ukraine attacks on Russian refineries, resulting in higher gas prices

Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries, in defiance of U.S. and Western demands, are the catalyst toward recent increases at the gas pump.

Gas prices are up over the past week by 7.7 cents per gallon in Virginia and 6.4 cents per gallon average across the U.S., according to the tracking website GasBuddy.

The average in Virginia on Monday morning was $3.45 a gallon; the average across the U.S. was $3.51 a gallon.

The national average price of diesel has risen 2.0 cents in the last week and stands at $4.02 per gallon.

“We’ve now seen the national average price of gasoline rising for four straight weeks, which isn’t uncommon for this time of year. What is uncommon is the number of attacks on Russian oil refiners, attacks which could have ripple effects worldwide if they continue,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.

Ukraine has stepped up its attacks on Russian refineries in recent weeks, calling them legitimate military targets as forces try to repel Russian advances in the two-year-old invasion.

The U.S. and the West have been trying to convince Ukraine to scale back the attacks, out of concern for the impact of the attacks on oil and gas prices worldwide.

It’s hard for the U.S. to exert meaningful political pressure with Republicans continuing to hold up additional funding for the Ukrainian effort in Congress.

“Russia could see more capacity impacted by the attacks, forcing it to buy such products on the global market, pushing prices up everywhere,” De Haan said. “With oil prices now under more pressure and attacks potentially increasing on Russian refiners, we could be in for a few more weeks of rising prices. Significant as well is the fact that Americans are now seeing inflation again at the pump with prices higher than they were a year ago.”