‘We’re done’ - Zelensky defies Trump, says Ukraine will resume strikes on Russian oil refineries

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine will resume its strikes on Russian oil refineries.

“The block [on attacking refineries] is out. We’re done,” Ukraine’s president said in an interview with the Financial Times.  

He noted that Ukraine had refrained from targeting energy facilities in Russia for three days to comply with a request from the United States. Meanwhile, Moscow continued its attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, resulting in the deaths of more than 100 civilians over the past week.  

Zelensky pointed out that despite halting its refinery strikes, Kyiv received no advanced warnings from American partners regarding incoming Russian ballistic missile attacks, and experienced restricted Starlink terminal functionality.  

He confirmed that U.S. officials had explicitly warned that failure to halt refinery attacks would result in Washington cutting off intelligence sharing. Zelensky also dismissed claims that the Starlink disruptions were accidental, stating, “It was not a technical problem, it was the will.”  

Asked if Ukraine might permanently halt refinery strikes to foster better relations with Washington, even if Russian attacks persisted, Zelensky replied that he could consider it only in exchange for additional shipments of missiles for Patriot systems, calling that his “minimum” requirement.

On October 11, Donald Trump announced that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an energy sector truce. Zelensky acknowledged shortly after that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had received corresponding orders, leading to a temporary halt in strikes on Russian refineries while Russia’s Defense Ministry continued targeting infrastructure in Kyiv.  

According to Axios, Trump has been counting on Zelensky to respect the energy truce and cease refinery attacks, with a White House source noting, “Trump is really mad. He feels Zelensky is taking the U.S. for granted.”