Ukraine has resumed strikes on Russian oil refineries as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy angrily accused the United States of the “dangerous” withdrawal of support critical to its defense against Russia.
Kyiv held off on attacks for three days after President Donald Trump’s unilateral “energy ceasefire” announcement, but accused Russia of repeatedly violating the truce with attacks on its power grid. Trump has blamed the Ukrainian campaign for fueling a rise in energy prices, despite the impact of his own war with Iran.
Ukraine voiced mounting frustration over Russia’s failure to abide by the truce, and what it sees as U.S. attempts to pressure Kyiv into concessions after gaps in intelligence sharing on Russian attacks and restrictions on the Starlink internet service.
In an interview with the Financial Times, published Thursday, Zelenskyy indicated his patience had been exhausted.
“The block (on attacking refineries) is out. We’re done,” Zelenskyy was quoted as saying.
Hours later a fire was reported at an oil refinery in the western Ryazan region, Gov. Pavel Malkov said. The Russian defense ministry said Ukraine had “attempted a massive attack on the Ryazan oil refinery.”
Ukraine has been reeling from a sudden shift from Trump, who struck a diesel deal with Russia in an apparent bid to relieve pressure at the pump ahead of the Midterm elections. He then demanded that Ukraine stop attacking Russian oil facilities and called for Zelenskyy to be replaced as leader. Trump’s “energy ceasefire” appeared to take both sides by surprise.
The moves caused frustration and confusion in Ukraine and Europe, intensifying concerns over how much of an ally the U.S. remained in the fight against Russia.
That worry was exacerbated Wednesday when Kyiv said it was facing the slowing down of Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite terminals, disrupting battlefield missions and its ability to intercept Russian drones attacking Ukrainian cities.
Ukraine was swarmed by Russian drones on Wednesday, and since midnight on Thursday more than 850 had filled Ukraine’s skies, Zelenskyy said. “And this comes precisely at a time when the speed of our defensive capabilities is being artificially restricted,” he said, referring to the Starlink slowdown.
Musk, a staunch ally of Trump, wrote on social media that decisions on restricting the use of Starshield, the military version of his company’s satellite system, were up to the U.S. military and ultimately Trump.
Overnight, Musk said it was “time for Zelenskyy to go.”
It came amid mounting questions about whether the U.S. has stopped or limited the sharing of critical military intelligence with Ukraine, after Zelenskyy said several ballistic strikes on Kyiv did not come with the usual advance warning from its partners.
Coming only days Trump eased sanctions on Russia’s diesel exports and railed against Zelenskyy, European and Ukrainian officials told NBC News they believed that the moves were likely aimed at pressuring Kyiv into making concessions at the negotiating table amid a stalemate in peace talks.
Ukraine was concerned that the chain of events amounted to an effort to pile pressure on Kyiv and backtrack on years of U.S. promises to help fend off the Russian invasion, one of the Ukrainian officials said.
Ukraine relies heavily on U.S. intelligence and the Starshield satellite network to defend itself against Russian drone and missile attacks and to target Russian forces with its own drones. A reduction in intelligence assistance or satellite access could seriously undermine Ukraine’s battlefield prospects just as winter sets in, according to military experts.
Ukrainian military officials were told by their U.S. counterparts that “if you will not stop [the energy strikes], we will block intelligence,” Zelenskyy said, according to FT, although it was subsequently presented to Kyiv as a technical glitch.
The withdrawal of the intelligence and simultaneous weakening of Starlink satellite internet were “dangerous” for Ukraine at a time when Russia is intensifying its strikes, he told the newspaper, adding that fighting without the U.S. would be “very difficult.”
Zelenskyy said he felt “betrayed” by Trump’s actions, speaking with Piers Morgan in a separate interview on Wednesday.