Ukraine Resumes Drone Strikes on Russian Refineries After Zelenskyy Ends Pause
Ukraine has resumed its attacks on Russian refineries with a strike at an installation in the Ryazan region, the regional governor said on Thursday, after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy voiced his anger at a “dangerous” withdrawal of U.S. intelligence. [1] Ukraine resumed strikes on Russian oil refineries with a drone attack on an installation in the Ryazan region after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared the end of a self-imposed pause prompted by frustration over Russia’s continued energy infrastructure attacks and reduced US intelligence support. [2] Zelenskyy told the Financial Times that Ukraine’s patience had run out, stating “The block (on attacking refineries) is out. We’re done.” [2] The Ryazan regional governor reported a major Ukrainian drone attack that sparked a fire at the oil refinery, with emergency services responding and material damage being assessed. [2]
Resumption of Ukrainian Strikes
Ukraine has resumed its attacks on Russian refineries with a strike at an installation in the Ryazan region, the regional governor said on Thursday, after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy voiced his anger at a “dangerous” withdrawal of U.S. intelligence. [1] Pavel Malkov, the governor of Ryazan, said in a post on Telegram that a major Ukrainian drone attack on the region had sparked a fire at an oil refinery. [2] “The material damage is now being assessed. Emergency services are working at the scene,” he said. [2] Russia on Thursday said Ukraine had attacked an oil refinery in Ryazan, south of the capital, Moscow. [4] Since Russia launched its invasion in 2022, Ukraine has faced repeated strikes on its power infrastructure and gradually expanded what it says are retaliatory strikes into Russian territory, including on refineries. [4]
Zelenskyy's Declaration
In an interview with the Financial Times published on Thursday, he said Ukraine’s patience had run out. [2] “The block (on attacking refineries) is out. We’re done,” he told the newspaper. [2] Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country would resume hitting Russian oil refineries and adopted a noticeably more defiant tone towards US President Donald Trump in an interview published Thursday by the Financial Times. [4] But after a wave of renewed Russian strikes on facilities on Wednesday, Zelensky told the FT: “The block (on attacking refineries) is out. We’re done.” [4] Zelensky had voiced increasing frustration with Russia’s continued attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, which he said on Wednesday had left 600,000 people without power. [2]
Fire burns at Russian oil refinery in Ryazan region after Ukrainian drone strike. — Source: cyprusmail
Context of the Energy Ceasefire
Since US President Donald Trump’s surprise announcement of an energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine on Sunday, Kyiv had refrained from attacking Russian refineries, which the US leader had blamed for raising diesel prices on global markets. [2] Trump last week unilaterally announced an “energy ceasefire” that was never publicly confirmed, and Moscow continued striking Ukrainian energy infrastructure. [4] Zelensky said Ukraine paused the strikes for several days, despite Russian claims — denied by Kyiv — that Ukraine attempted to target refineries during that period. [4] He warned that Ukraine would not suspend its own attacks indefinitely if Russia did not reciprocate and also criticised what he said was Trump’s favouritism toward Russia. [2]
US Intelligence and Support Issues
Zelenskyy criticised Washington’s eagerness to strike business deals with Moscow and Trump’s apparent admiration for Russia’s Vladimir Putin. [2] Despite Ukraine’s suspension of refinery attacks, Ukrainian officials complained that they had not received any US early-warning alerts in recent days for incoming Russian ballistic missiles. [2] They also said the military version of Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite communications service had been slowed across the country, hampering frontline operations and medium-range strikes against Russian military sites. [2] Zelensky has said that Ukrainian military officials were warned by their US counterparts that Washington would block intelligence unless they halted strikes on Russian energy infrastructure. [2] In the FT interview Zelenskyy said the suspension was presented to Kyiv as a technical glitch, but he dismissed the idea that failures of the Starlink satellite system might have been caused by a fault. [2] “It was not a technical problem, it was the will,” he told the FT. [2] Starshield, the satellite network built on Starlink and used by militaries, was slowed over Wednesday. [4] Musk said on Wednesday in a post on X that Starshield – the military version of Starlink – was owned and controlled by the US government, which decided on any limits on speed. [2]
Zelenskyy's Critique of Trump
In his interview, Zelensky criticised Washington’s eagerness to strike business deals with Moscow and Trump’s apparent admiration for Russia’s Vladimir Putin. [2] Trump on Saturday called for Ukraine to replace Zelensky and railed against Ukraine’s attacks on Russian oil infrastructure, one day after announcing a diesel supply deal with Russia, aiming to lower fuel prices that have soared since the US-Israeli war with Iran began in February. [2] In the interview, Zelensky made a pointed comment about the relationship between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. [4] Trump “speaks about it openly and loudly that he loves such people and he respects such people. Because for him people who can be leaders 20 years, 30 years, 40 years, it means they can be very strong”, he said. [4]
Conditions for Future Restraint
Asked whether Ukraine would be open to halting energy strikes as a way of repairing relations with the White House, he told the newspaper he could only agree if in return he was given more US-made Patriot interceptors, calling it the “minimum” that would be acceptable. [2]
What to watch next: Zelenskyy indicated he would only consider halting energy strikes in exchange for additional US-made Patriot interceptors as a minimum concession, while Ukrainian officials continue to monitor restrictions on intelligence sharing and Starshield service speeds.
