‘We’re done’: Zelensky says Ukraine will resume strikes on Russian oil refineries

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine will resume 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 said Ukraine had not struck energy facilities in Russia for three days, in keeping with a request from the United States. Moscow, meanwhile, continued striking Ukrainian energy infrastructure, killing more than 100 civilians over the past week.

Zelensky said that although Ukraine stopped striking oil refineries, it received no American warnings about Russian ballistic missile attacks. He also said Starlink terminal operations had been restricted.

He confirmed that American officials had warned Ukraine that if Kyiv did not stop striking oil refineries, the United States would stop sharing intelligence. Zelensky also rejected the idea that a malfunction had caused the Starlink problems. “It was not a technical problem, it was the will,” he said.

Asked whether Ukraine could stop striking oil refineries to improve relations with Washington, even if Russia continued its own attacks, Zelensky said he could agree to that in exchange for additional shipments of missiles for Patriot systems. That, he said, was the “minimum” he had asked for.

Donald Trump said October 11 that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to a truce in the energy sector. Zelensky soon said the Ukrainian Armed Forces had “received all relevant orders” in connection with the truce. Ukraine then stopped striking Russian oil refineries, while Russia’s Defense Ministry reported that Russian forces had struck communications and energy infrastructure in Kyiv.

According to Axios, Trump is counting on Zelensky to observe the energy truce and stop striking Russian oil refineries. “Trump is really mad. He feels Zelensky is taking the U.S. for granted,” a White House source told the outlet.