Ukraine struck a Russian oil refinery on Thursday after President Volodymyr Zelensky declared that Kyiv was abandoning a ceasefire covering energy sites announced by President Donald Trump, and criticized Trump’s willingness to strike deals with Moscow.
Ukraine’s latest target was a refinery in the Ryazan region southeast of Moscow, owned by state oil major Rosneft, which accounts for nearly 5% of Russia’s refinery throughput. Regional governor Pavel Malkov said a major Ukrainian drone attack had caused a fire at the refinery.
The strike came after Zelensky told the Financial Times: “The block on attacking refineries is out. We’re done.” By walking away from Trump’s demand, Zelensky risks deepening the biggest rift between Kyiv and Washington since Russia’s February 2022 invasion .
The Breaking Point
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. But in the days that followed, Russia rained down missile and drone strikes, including on power stations, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of people.
Zelensky also criticized what he saw as Trump’s willingness to strike deals with Russia. He speaks about it openly and loudly that he loves such people and he respects such people,” Zelensky said of Trump’s admiration for leaders like Putin. Because for him, people who can be leaders for 20 years, 30 years, 40 years, it means they can be very strong”.
The Starlink Factor
Zelensky said he believed changes to the military version of SpaceX’s Starlink receivers this week, which curbed Ukraine’s ability to pilot drones, were a policy decision. “It was not a technical problem; it was the will,” he told the FT.
Elon Musk wrote on X that usage of Starshield was ultimately up to Trump. “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”.
British Defence Minister Wes Streeting said he and US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth welcomed the restoration of Starlink service and called for both sides to “move forward in a collective spirit”.
The Kremlin’s Response
The Kremlin accused Ukraine of derailing US peace efforts. “Kyiv continues to launch strikes against these facilities,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “It is coming into serious conflict with the peace efforts of the US and American negotiators”.
Putin played down the effect of the strikes, saying they had caused “nothing particularly significant”.
The Bottom Line
Ukraine struck a Russian oil refinery after Zelensky declared “we’re done” with Trump’s energy ceasefire, which he said Russia repeatedly violated. Zelensky also accused the US of restricting Starlink access as political pressure. The rift between Kyiv and Washington is the deepest since the war began, with Trump blaming Ukrainian strikes for rising fuel prices ahead of the midterms.
My Opinion
Zelensky’s message to Trump is simple: you can pressure us, but you cannot stop us from defending ourselves. The energy ceasefire was a one-sided deal. Russia kept striking Ukraine’s power grid while Ukraine held back. Trump did nothing. So Zelensky walked away.
The Starlink restrictions made it worse. Elon Musk says decisions on the satellite network are up to the US military and ultimately the president. That means Ukraine’s ability to defend its cities and intercept Russian drones is now subject to the political whims of a man who has already said it is “time for Zelenskyy to go.”
Trump has spent months pushing Ukraine to stop attacking the refineries that fund Russia’s war machine. He did it because gas prices are rising before the midterms. He did it because he wants to claim he ended the war. But Ukraine is not a prop in American domestic politics. It is a country fighting for its survival.
