Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall says the Ukraine war, not the Iran war, has caused high diesel prices

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Republican Sen. Roger Marshall said Wednesday that Ukraine's war with Russia — and not the U.S. war with Iran — was to blame for high diesel prices that have imperiled his party's control of Congress in the midterm elections.

The answer, delivered during a debate with Democratic challenger Adam Hamilton, aligned Marshall with President Donald Trump's freshly antagonistic posture toward Ukraine, which has spent more than four years defending itself against an invasion. Trump says Ukraine's strikes on Moscow's refineries are responsible for high fuel costs, and said he wants to alleviate the problem by importing Russian diesel.

Marshall balked at that Wednesday, saying “it doesn't sound like a great idea.” But he said ”if this brings Russia to the bargaining table, and it ends the war, then I am all for it right now.”

Hamilton sharply criticized Marshall's stance, saying “nobody believes” Ukraine is to blame.

“What you said just now is you’re going to sell out our friends in Ukraine,” Hamilton said. “That’s not OK."

It was the second and final debate in the Kansas Senate race before the Nov. 3 election. Marshall is seeking a second term, and the race is considered close even though a Democrat hasn’t won a Senate seat in Kansas since 1932. Hamilton is the founder and senior pastor of the nation’s largest United Methodist church.

The cost of diesel is a particularly potent issue in Kansas because the fuel powers its agricultural economy. Hamilton has repeatedly talked on the campaign trail about high diesel prices as a consequence of an “unnecessary” war with Iran waged by Trump. Diesel averaged $6.32 a gallon this week, up from $3.62 a gallon a year ago, according to AAA.

Hamilton has called for suspending federal fuel taxes as a temporary solution while the war in Iran continues. He said he would work to force Trump to end the Iran war. Marshall said he wants the war to end as soon as possible, without committing to trying to force it.

Marshall also tried to tie Hamilton to liberal Democrats' Green New Deal proposals for shifting the U.S. economy fully to renewable energy to combat climate change, suggesting those ideas have prevented the U.S. from building new diesel refineries.

Hamilton said he supports parts of the Green New Deal but not the entire package.

Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate Adam Hamilton talks to the media after a debate with Republican Sen. Roger Marshall at WDAF TV in Kansas City, Mo., Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Republican Sen. Roger Marshall participates in a debate with Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate Adam Hamilton at WDAF TV in Kansas City, Mo., Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, Pool)

Republican Sen. Roger Marshall, right, and Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate Adam Hamilton participate in a debate at WDAF TV in Kansas City, Mo., Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, Pool)

Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate Adam Hamilton talks to the media after a debate with Republican Sen. Roger Marshall at WDAF TV in Kansas City, Mo., Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Republican Sen. Roger Marshall participates in a debate with Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate Adam Hamilton at WDAF TV in Kansas City, Mo., Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, Pool)

PARIS (AP) — French authorities in multiple cities banned protests planned across the country on Thursday after a weekend of clashes and widespread looting in France's most violent unrest in years.

The turmoil in Paris and other French cities has prompted a strong security response from the government. Night curfews have been implemented in some areas of the French capital, as well as in other cities where calm has been restored.

Demonstrations planned Thursday in Paris, Lyon, Lille and Grenoble were banned, a move seen by some as an infringement on French people’s right to protest.

But high school and university student groups say they will continue to mobilize, even though the autumn school break started this week.

The Paris police prefecture said the ban was necessary given the risk of street violence that erupted over the weekend, when groups of masked youth clashed with police forces, looted shops and torched cars.

The ban in Paris will last until 8 p.m. local time and apply to areas including the Elysée presidential palace, both houses of parliament, and the city's main train stations. Areas in downtown Paris which were severely hit by the looting are also covered.

Thursday's planned protests were seen as a prelude to Saturday's big demonstration, when activists from the “ yellow vest ” movement, whose demonstrations over fuel prices shook France in 2018 and 2019, are expected to join.

Some of those protests, including marches in Lyon, will also be banned, local authorities said.

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, who met union representatives on Wednesday, said a “massive” security operation was planned for Saturday to prevent a repeat of the violence by small groups of rioters that had exposed shortcomings in security measures.

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron held a meeting Thursday morning with intelligence services, Lecornu and ministers to obtain a detailed account of what went wrong on the weekend and review preparations for upcoming protests.

Union representatives said their meeting with Lecornu did not result in concrete proposals. They are now focusing on another big day of action scheduled on Nov. 5, and called on private and public sector employees to join.

The demonstrations first erupted last month in a high school in Creteil, southeast of Paris, over a lack of staff. From there, class strikes, blockades and demonstrations spread to other Paris suburbs and then nationwide, even in smaller towns.

High school students have raised concerns about underfunded schools, dilapidated facilities and staff shortages, particularly in lower-income neighborhoods. Some also called for a reform of the university admissions system, seen by many as complex and unfair.

With the government unable to respond to students' demands, the school demonstrations and blockades have morphed into larger protests over soaring living costs, just months before next year's presidential election to choose Macron's successor.

A woman walks past a building with graffiti that reads "The ultra-rich against everyone" and "No justice, no peace. RIP El Hacen" after the weekend protests over the cost of living turned into rioting and looting across France, in Paris, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Teresa Suarez)

A man walks past a burned-out structure next to the inscription in a wall ¨Power = Pedophilia¨ after the weekend protests over the cost of living turned into rioting and looting across France, in Paris, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Teresa Suarez)

People walk past La Barrique bistrot damaged after the weekend protests over the cost of living turned into rioting and looting across France, in Paris, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Teresa Suarez)

View of charred objects from a newsstand after the weekend protests over the cost of living turned into rioting and looting across France, in Paris, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Teresa Suarez)

People watch and take photos of cleanup efforts after weekend protests over the cost of living turned into rioting and looting across France, in Paris, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Teresa Suarez)