It's Settled! Zelensky Resumes Strikes on Russian Oil Refineries

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the Financial Times in an interview published today, Thursday, that Ukraine will resume its strikes on Russian refineries.

He stated to the newspaper, "The ban on refinery attacks is over, it's settled."

The report, cited by Reuters, noted that Zelensky criticized Washington's eagerness to make deals with Moscow as well as the admiration expressed by US President Donald Trump towards Russian President Vladimir Putin.

On Saturday, Trump called on Ukraine to replace Zelensky and strongly attacked Ukrainian strikes on Russia's oil infrastructure. This came one day after Trump announced an agreement to supply diesel from Russia, aiming to ease pressure on fuel prices which have surged sharply since the outbreak of the Iran war.

Zelensky mentioned days ago on X that Ukraine had halted its attacks on Russian oil refineries and other energy infrastructure facilities for two days, following Trump's announcement of a truce in the energy sector.

Despite this pause, Zelensky told the newspaper that his forces are no longer receiving early warnings from the US regarding incoming ballistic missiles. He also pointed to a slowdown in Starlink satellite communication services, owned by Elon Musk, across the country, hindering operations on front lines and medium-range strikes against Russian military sites.

Zelensky added that US military officials told their Ukrainian counterparts, "If you don't stop (targeting energy facilities), we will withhold intelligence information from you." However, the issue was later portrayed to Kyiv as a "technical glitch."

Zelensky ruled out that the problems with the Starlink system were due to a technical failure, telling the newspaper, "It wasn't a technical problem, it was a matter of will."

In response to a question about whether Ukraine was ready to halt its attacks on Russia's energy sector to improve relations with the White House, Zelensky said he would only agree if he received more US-made Patriot missiles in return, describing that as the acceptable "minimum."