By Putin’s own estimate, Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries have cost Russia 1% of GDP. But he says stopping them isn’t worth halting attacks on Ukrainian vessels.

Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected the idea of halting attacks on Ukrainian ships in exchange for Ukraine ending its strikes on Russian oil refineries. He made the remarks at the Valdai Forum.

Putin estimated Russia’s losses from the refinery strikes at 1% of GDP. He said Russia has enough diesel to meet its own needs, but sanctions would keep any surplus off the global market — even if Ukraine stopped the strikes.

“How is our diesel supposed to reach the global market with sanctions still in place? It can’t. And in return for that, we would have to stop striking targets important to their economy. You have to admit, that just looks absurd,” Putin said.

Putin also said Russia had begun striking targets important to Ukraine’s economy in response to the refinery attacks. He said the strikes had inflicted significant damage on Ukraine. In particular, he said, the country now has “virtually no metals industry.”

In recent weeks, U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to stop striking Russian oil refineries. Trump has linked rising diesel prices to the war between Russia and Ukraine. He said Zelensky responded to his most recent request by saying, “Maybe we’ll do that.”

In mid-September, Trump said Russia and Ukraine had agreed to halt strikes on energy facilities. That claim was not confirmed. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov, however, called the idea “good.”