Zelensky Defies Trump and Resumes Strikes on Russian Refineries
Volodymyr Zelensky has declared Ukraine’s brief pause on strikes against Russian oil refineries over, telling the Financial Times that Kyiv will resume the attacks despite pressure from Donald Trump, who has linked the campaign to soaring fuel prices at home.
“The block [on attacking refineries] is out. We’re done,” Zelensky said in an interview published on Thursday. Ukraine had halted strikes on Russian oil infrastructure for three days after Washington announced a surprise “energy ceasefire” initiative, but Kyiv says Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities continued throughout the pause. Russian officials said on Thursday that Ukraine had attempted a large-scale attack on an oil refinery in Ryazan overnight; Ukraine has not commented.
A rupture with Washington
Zelensky used the interview to air deepening frustration with Trump, criticising what he called a “dangerous” withdrawal of US intelligence sharing and restrictions to Starlink services. Ukrainian military officials were told by their US counterparts that “if you will not stop [the energy strikes], we will block intelligence,” he said, dismissing later claims of a technical glitch: “It was not a technical problem, it was the will.” During the pause, he added, Ukrainian forces received no US early-warning alerts for incoming ballistic missiles, while Starlink restrictions disrupted frontline operations on Wednesday.
The tension has been building since Trump announced a controversial deal for Russia to supply diesel to global markets — a move he has linked to bringing down energy costs before the midterm elections. On Saturday he called for Ukraine to replace Zelensky and blamed Ukrainian refinery strikes for rising diesel prices. Zelensky called the diesel deal a “weak decision” and said he felt “betrayed.” The rupture echoes other recent transatlantic strains, including Washington’s warnings to Europe over Israel boycotts — and Europe has watched closely amid its own regrouping, from Britain’s courtship of Berlin ahead of the November EU test.
The stakes of the campaign
Ukraine has spent months sending long-range drones at Russian refineries, aiming to squeeze the revenue and fuel supplies sustaining Moscow’s war effort — a campaign that Western and Ukrainian assessments say has damaged significant refining capacity. Zelensky signalled the door to restraint was not fully shut: he would consider halting energy strikes again only if the United States supplied more Patriot interceptor missiles, which he called “the minimum” acceptable in return. Whether Washington blinks — or tightens the intelligence screws further — will shape the winter’s energy battle on both sides of the front.
