Defying Trump's Stance, Zelensky Confirms Ukraine Will Restart Russian Oil Refinery Strikes

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has declared that his nation will recommence its targeted strikes on Russian oil refineries. In an interview with the Financial Times, President Zelensky unequivocally stated, “The block [on attacking refineries] is out. We’re done,” indicating an end to the previous restraint.

He further elaborated that Ukraine had observed a three-day moratorium on targeting Russian energy facilities, a concession made in response to a request from the United States. This pause, however, did not deter Moscow, which continued its own assaults on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, leading to over 100 civilian fatalities in the preceding week alone.

Zelensky highlighted the lack of reciprocal action, noting that despite Kyiv halting its refinery attacks, American partners provided no advance warnings regarding incoming Russian ballistic missile strikes. He also mentioned experiencing disruptions in Starlink terminal functionality. The Ukrainian leader confirmed that U.S. officials had explicitly cautioned that a failure to cease refinery attacks would result in Washington cutting off vital intelligence sharing. Dismissing any notion of technical issues, Zelensky firmly asserted regarding the Starlink disruptions, “It was not a technical problem, it was the will.”

When questioned about the possibility of a permanent cessation of refinery strikes to improve relations with Washington, even if Russian aggression persisted, Zelensky stated that such a consideration would only be possible in exchange for additional shipments of missiles for Patriot air defense systems, labeling this his “minimum” prerequisite.

Recall that on October 11, Donald Trump had announced a supposed energy sector truce between Russia and Ukraine. Shortly thereafter, Zelensky acknowledged that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had indeed received orders consistent with this, leading to a temporary halt in strikes on Russian refineries. However, during this period, Russia’s Defense Ministry maintained its targeting of infrastructure within Kyiv. According to a report by Axios, Trump had been banking on Zelensky upholding this energy truce and discontinuing refinery attacks, with an unnamed White House source quoted as saying, “Trump is really mad. He feels Zelensky is taking the U.S. for granted.”