Ukraine will resume attacks on Russian oil refineries, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said, escalating tensions with US President Donald Trump over Kyiv’s military strategy and Washington’s efforts to pursue commercial agreements with Moscow.
“The restrictions on attacks on refineries are over. Enough,” Zelensky told the Financial Times in an interview published on Thursday. He criticised the US administration’s efforts to secure trade agreements with Russia and what he described as Trump’s apparent admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The announcement came as a Ukrainian drone attack sparked a fire at an oil refinery in Russia’s Ryazan region on Thursday. Regional governor Pavel Malkov said the damage was being assessed and emergency services were working at the site. Another storage facility was also damaged, according to his statement on Telegram.
The renewed strikes follow a brief suspension of Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries and other energy infrastructure after Trump announced what he called an “energy ceasefire”. Ukraine halted the attacks for two days, but Zelensky told the Financial Times that the pause coincided with disruptions to military support from the United States.
According to Zelensky, Ukrainian forces lost access to US early-warning alerts about incoming ballistic missiles, while Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite communications service operated more slowly across Ukraine. He said the disruptions hampered operations along the front line and medium-range strikes against Russian military installations.
Zelensky rejected the suggestion that the Starlink problems resulted from an accidental technical failure, saying the restrictions were deliberate. He told the Financial Times that US counterparts had warned Ukrainian military commanders: “If you don’t stop [the attacks on the energy sector], we will block intelligence.”
Although the satellite communications difficulties were later presented to Kyiv as a technical problem, Zelensky disputed that explanation. “It wasn’t a technical problem; it was a question of will,” he said.
The dispute has intensified since Trump publicly criticised Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil infrastructure and called on Ukrainians to replace Zelensky on Saturday. His comments came a day after he announced a diesel supply agreement with Russia intended to ease pressure on fuel prices, which have risen sharply since the US-Israeli war against Iran began in February.
The agreement has added to tensions over Washington’s approach to Moscow while Ukraine continues to rely on American military assistance. Zelensky’s latest remarks suggest that Kyiv’s decisions on attacks against Russian energy facilities remain closely tied to its concerns about the availability of US intelligence and military support.
Asked whether Ukraine would agree to stop attacking Russian energy infrastructure to repair relations with the White House, Zelensky said he would consider such a move only in exchange for additional US-made Patriot interceptor missiles.
He described the provision of more Patriot missiles as the “minimum” Ukraine would require in return for suspending the strikes.
