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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said his forces will resume strikes on Russian oil refineries after pausing them for three days at the behest of the US government, according to an interview he gave to the Financial Times. “The block [on attacking refineries] is out. We’re done,” Zelensky told the newspaper. He accused Russia of continuing to target Ukrainian energy infrastructure during the pause, which left hundreds of thousands without power and resulted in civilian deaths.
A major Ukrainian drone attack sparked a fire at an oil refinery in Russia’s Ryazan region early on Thursday, Ryazan Governor Pavel Malkov reported on Telegram. The governor said emergency services were at the scene assessing damage, with a warehouse also hit in the assaults. Reuters reported that the facility, owned by Rosneft, accounts for almost 5 percent of Russia’s total oil refining throughput and has been targeted multiple times previously.
US President Donald Trump announced an energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine on October 12, 2026, which he said was effective immediately, Reuters reported. The move came after Trump blamed Ukrainian strikes for contributing to higher global diesel prices amid other geopolitical tensions. Zelensky had agreed to the temporary halt but expressed frustration that Moscow did not reciprocate, according to multiple outlets including Politico and Bloomberg.
Zelensky further claimed that the US had withdrawn intelligence sharing on Russian missile strikes as leverage, a step he described as dangerous. He also noted restrictions on Starlink services that affected military operations, insisting it was deliberate rather than a technical issue. “It was not a technical problem; it was the will,” Zelensky stated in the Financial Times interview.
The Ukrainian leader indicated he would only consider halting the energy strikes in exchange for additional US-made Patriot air defense missiles, which he called the minimum acceptable offer. This position links defensive capabilities to offensive restraint amid ongoing Russian attacks. European leaders were set to discuss the matter at a summit in Brussels on Thursday, as reported by the BBC.
In recent months, Ukrainian drones have repeatedly struck Russian energy sites, aiming to disrupt revenue flows to Moscow’s war effort, a strategy detailed in reports from The New York Times and Reuters. The latest resumption follows a pattern of such operations that have forced Russia to redirect resources for defense. Oil industry analyses suggest these strikes have reduced Russian refining capacity temporarily, contributing to global market fluctuations.
The Kremlin described the Ukrainian action as a large-scale attempt that was mostly intercepted, with debris causing the fire. Russian officials have denied agreeing to any energy truce proposed by Washington. Zelensky’s decision comes as tensions with the Trump administration have escalated over perceived favoritism toward Russia.
