Ukraine will resume strikes on Russian refineries, Zelensky said. He accused Washington of cutting intelligence and slowing Starlink.
Ukraine will resume strikes on Russian oil refineries after a three-day pause, President Volodymyr Zelensky told the Financial Times in an interview published Thursday, citing continued Russian attacks and what he called a dangerous reduction in U.S. support. “The block [on attacking refineries] is out. We’re done,” he said.
President Donald Trump announced an “energy ceasefire” between Russia and Ukraine on Sunday, claiming both sides had agreed to halt strikes. The announcement followed a U.S. diesel supply deal with Russia and Trump’s accusation that Ukraine was driving up global fuel prices, amid mounting Washington pressure on Kyiv to stop hitting Russian refineries. Zelensky said Ukraine paused energy strikes for three days to comply, but that Moscow kept attacking Ukrainian energy infrastructure throughout.
Zelensky also said Ukrainian forces were left without early-warning alerts for Russian missile attacks and that Starlink satellite communications slowed across the country, affecting frontline operations. He dismissed the idea that the Starlink problems were a technical glitch, and Bloomberg reported he accused Trump and Elon Musk of restraining Kyiv’s access to SpaceX’s satellite technology. A Ukrainian outlet, Mezha, reported that Kyiv had been warned that intelligence sharing might be suspended if it kept striking Russian energy targets. Trump has previously denied Washington stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine, and the claims could not be independently verified.
Zelensky criticized Washington’s eagerness for business deals with Moscow and Trump’s apparent admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to Mezha, he suggested Ukraine might again refrain from hitting Russian energy infrastructure if it received additional missiles for its Patriot air-defense systems.
This report is based on information from the Financial Times (as reported by Bloomberg and Investing.com) and Mezha.