Ukraine will resume strikes on Russian oil refineries, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said, signalling an end to Kyiv’s temporary pause in attacks on Russian energy facilities after a request from the United States.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Zelensky said Ukraine had stopped targeting Russian energy facilities for three days in response to Washington’s request, but argued that the pause had not brought a comparable halt to Russian attacks on Ukraine.
“The block [on attacking refineries] is out. We’re done,” Zelensky said, indicating that Ukrainian forces were prepared to resume the strikes.
The Ukrainian president said Russian attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure had continued during the pause, with more than 100 civilians reportedly killed over the preceding week. He also said Kyiv had not received advance warnings from its American partners about incoming Russian ballistic missile attacks, despite complying with the request to suspend refinery strikes.
Zelensky also challenged the reliability of US support during the pause, pointing to restrictions on Starlink satellite communications used by Ukrainian forces. He rejected the suggestion that the disruption was simply a technical failure.
“It was not a technical problem, it was the will,” he said, suggesting that the limitations were deliberate.
According to Zelensky, American officials had explicitly warned that Washington could cut off intelligence sharing if Ukraine continued attacking Russian refineries. The prospect of losing access to US intelligence is particularly significant for Ukraine as it relies on information from its partners to track threats and prepare its air defences against Russian missile attacks.
The dispute has also raised questions about what Washington expects from the proposed energy truce. On October 11, US President Donald Trump announced that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to stop attacks on energy facilities. However, the announcement initially caught Kyiv off guard, and Ukraine subsequently reported continued Russian attacks on its energy infrastructure.
The disagreement centres on whether the two countries are expected to stop attacks unilaterally or whether both sides must comply. Zelensky has maintained that Ukraine is prepared to halt strikes on Russian energy targets if Moscow also stops attacking Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
For Zelensky, suspending the refinery campaign without securing a corresponding reduction in Russian attacks would leave Ukraine making concessions without receiving a clear security benefit. He also indicated that a longer-term halt to the strikes would require additional military support from the United States.
Asked whether he would consider permanently stopping attacks on Russian refineries to improve relations with Washington, even if Russia continued its strikes, Zelensky said he would consider doing so in exchange for more missiles for Patriot air defence systems. He described additional Patriot ammunition as his “minimum” requirement.
The dispute comes amid mounting tensions between Trump and Zelensky over Ukraine’s attacks on Russian oil facilities and Washington’s broader approach to the war. Trump has pressed Kyiv to stop the strikes, while his administration has argued that the attacks affect energy markets and American consumers. An Axios report on October 11 said a White House official expected Zelensky to respect the proposed energy truce, reflecting Washington’s frustration with the Ukrainian campaign.
The immediate question is whether the temporary pause can be revived or whether Ukraine’s decision to resume refinery strikes will deepen the dispute with its most important military partner. Zelensky’s latest remarks make clear that Kyiv does not intend to keep observing restrictions on its attacks while Russian strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure continue.
