Ukraine has resumed attacks on Russian oil refineries, with a drone strike sparking a fire at an oil installation in the Ryazan region, following President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s criticism of the United States over an alleged withdrawal of intelligence support.
Ryazan Governor Pavel Malkov confirmed the attack in a post on Telegram on Thursday, saying the extent of the damage was being assessed and emergency services were working at the scene.
The strike marks a resumption of Ukraine’s attacks on Russian refineries after US President Donald Trump announced an energy ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv on Sunday.
Trump had blamed Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil infrastructure for contributing to rising diesel prices on global markets.
However, Zelenskiy expressed growing frustration over continued Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, which he said had left 600,000 people without electricity as of Wednesday.
In an interview with the Financial Times published on Thursday, Zelenskiy said Ukraine would no longer suspend its attacks indefinitely if Russia continued targeting Ukrainian energy facilities.
“The block (on attacking refineries) is out. We’re done,” he told the newspaper.
Zelenskiy also criticised what he described as Trump’s favourable attitude towards Russia and his administration’s eagerness to pursue business agreements with Moscow.
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Trump had called for Zelenskiy to be replaced on Saturday and criticised Ukraine’s attacks on Russian oil infrastructure, a day after announcing a diesel supply agreement with Russia.
The agreement was aimed at easing fuel prices that have risen since the United States and Israel began their war with Iran in February.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials have complained that they had not received US early-warning alerts for incoming Russian ballistic missiles in recent days, despite Kyiv’s suspension of refinery attacks.
They also reported disruptions to Starshield, the military version of Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite communications service, saying the slowdown had affected frontline operations and medium-range strikes against Russian military targets.
Musk said on Wednesday that Starshield was owned and controlled by the US government, which determined any restrictions on its speed.
Zelenskiy said Ukrainian military officials had been warned by their US counterparts that Washington could withhold intelligence support unless Kyiv halted attacks on Russian energy infrastructure.
In the Financial Times interview, he rejected the explanation that the suspension of satellite services was caused by a technical fault.
“It was not a technical problem, it was the will,” he said.
Asked whether Ukraine would consider halting attacks on energy facilities to improve relations with the White House, Zelenskiy said he would agree only in exchange for additional US-made Patriot air defence interceptors, describing the provision as the minimum acceptable condition.
