KYIV, Ukraine – Ukraine struck a Russian oil refinery on Thursday, October 15, after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared that Kyiv was abandoning a ceasefire covering energy sites announced by US President Donald Trump, and criticized Trump’s willingness to strike deals with Moscow.
By effectively walking away from Trump’s demand that Ukraine halt attacks on Russian refineries and openly criticizing the US leader, Zelenskyy risks deepening the biggest rift between Kyiv and Washington since Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s latest target was a refinery in the Ryazan region southeast of Moscow, which is owned by state oil major Rosneft and accounts for nearly 5% of Russia’s refinery throughput, helping supply the capital.
Regional governor Pavel Malkov said on Telegram that a major Ukrainian drone attack had caused a fire at the refinery.
Russian President Vladimir Putin played down the effect of Ukrainian long-range attacks on Russian refineries, saying they had caused “nothing particularly significant.”
After Trump’s surprise announcement on Sunday that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to halt attacks on energy sites, Kyiv suspended attacks on Russian refineries, which Trump blames for raising diesel prices on global markets.
But in the days that followed, Russia rained down missile and drone strikes, including on energy targets such as power stations, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of people.
Zelenskyy’s relations with Trump have been testy, particularly after a February 2025 Oval Office meeting descended into a shouting match.
Zelenskyy has since praised Trump and US help for Ukraine, and in recent days said Ukraine fully backed the energy ceasefire despite waves of Russian attacks.
Patience ran out
In an interview with the Financial Times published on Thursday, Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s patience had run out.
“The block (on attacking refineries) is out. We’re done,” he told the newspaper.
Zelenskyy also criticized what he saw as Trump’s willingness to strike deals with Russia, apparent admiration for Putin and an affinity for those wielding power or considerable wealth.
“He (Trump) speaks about it openly and loudly that he loves such people and he respects such people,” the FT quoted him as saying. “Because for him people who can be leaders 20 years, 30 years, 40 years, it means they can be very strong.”
In his comments to the FT, Zelenskyy also said he believed that changes in the capability of the military version of SpaceX’s Starlink receptors this week, which curbed Ukraine’s ability to pilot its drones, were a policy decision.
“It was not a technical problem, it was the will,” he told the FT.
British Defense Minister Wes Streeting said on Thursday that he and US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth welcomed the restoration of the Starlink service in Ukraine and called for both sides to “move forward in a collective spirit.”
“We need President Trump engaged on Ukraine. He has been, and the diplomatic track is as important in ending the war as making sure Ukraine has the weapons it needs to see off Russian aggression,” he said on Fox News.
EU summit
Zelenskyy was due to attend a European Union summit on Friday and in a series of meetings ahead of the gathering stressed the need to strengthen air defenses.
In a social media post overnight, SpaceX boss Elon Musk said usage of the military version of Starlink, known as Starshield, was ultimately up to Trump as president of the United States.
“Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government. Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS,” Musk wrote.
Although Trump has described the ceasefire as a requirement for both Moscow and Kyiv, his public comments have focused mainly on Ukraine’s attacks on Russian refineries, which he said over the weekend had “damn well better stop”.
Ukrainians worry that the rift could have severe consequences on the battlefield, where the Ukrainian military still depends on technology provided by Washington.
Ukrainian officials say that for several days they have not received the usual warnings, which rely on US satellite detectors, from Western allies about incoming Russian missiles.
Trump has denied withholding intelligence.
At the same time, military-grade Starlink receptors have stopped working in Ukraine when mounted on fast-moving objects, interfering with the performance of Ukrainian drones that rely on them for onboard guidance systems over Ukrainian territory.
A source in Ukraine’s defense ministry said on Thursday that the receptors were now working when in motion, but only at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour (160 kph). Ukrainian officials say that is too slow for mid-range attack missions and interceptor drones that defend against Russian drones.
Defense experts said, and a Reuters analysis of satellite imagery, meanwhile, showed that Russia had in just six weeks nearly finished building a major base in southern Russia for launching jet-powered drones.
Ukraine has been using its long-range drones to target Russian refineries and logistics in recent months, which it says is its only answer to nearly five years of relentless Russian bombardment. The attacks have caused fuel shortages in Russia.
Trump is under pressure to lower fuel prices, with his Republicans facing midterm elections in less than three weeks,. Prices for diesel have reached record highs since he launched a war against Iran in February, though Trump says the Ukrainian attacks are driving up global prices.
In the Black Sea, rescuers searched for seven missing sailors after drones struck two chemical tankers near Romania’s Black Sea coast, setting them ablaze in the latest attack on shipping along a vital route used by Ukraine.
The Kremlin said on Thursday that Ukraine’s targeting of Russian energy infrastructure ran counter to US peace efforts. It said earlier this week that the scope of the energy ceasefire had never been determined and work was ongoing to do so. – Rappler.com