Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine would resume strikes on Russian oil refineries in an interview published October 15. Speaking to the Financial Times in London, he announced the decision despite what he described as U.S. threats to stop sharing intelligence.

Zelensky said Ukraine had paused the attacks for three days from October 11, when U.S. President Donald Trump announced an energy ceasefire. He said Russia had continued attacking Ukrainian infrastructure during the pause.

Neither Moscow nor Kyiv had publicly confirmed the ceasefire announced by Trump, according to the Portuguese news agency Lusa. Zelensky said another halt to refinery strikes would require additional U.S. Patriot air-defence missiles.

Dispute over missile warnings

Zelensky said U.S. military officials had warned their Ukrainian counterparts that intelligence access would be blocked unless refinery attacks stopped. He said American early warnings of Russian ballistic missile launches then ceased during Ukraine’s pause.

Advertisement

Those warnings help Ukraine prepare its air defences by providing information about missile launchers, targets and timing. Trump administration officials, including the president, insisted that intelligence sharing had continued, CNN reported.

Zelensky viewed the missing warnings as deliberate, while U.S. officials described a technical failure or blamed the weather. The reason for the interruption remains disputed.

Satellite internet restrictions affect operations

Ukrainian officials also said restrictions on military satellite internet services had disrupted frontline operations. Zelensky said the slowdown was deliberate rather than a technical problem.

The restrictions involved Starshield, a military-grade satellite service, according to Ukrainian officials cited by CNN. Elon Musk said the U.S. government owns and controls Starshield, and that limits on its use are decisions for the U.S. military and president.

Musk distinguished it from Starlink, the commercial satellite internet service owned and controlled by SpaceX. He said Starlink was limited to civilian or defensive activities and could not be used for offensive military action.

Refinery reports and the Russian diesel deal

Russian authorities separately reported fresh attacks on oil facilities. Ryazan region governor Pavel Malkov said drones struck a refinery overnight into October 15, causing a fire. Preliminary information indicated no injuries, and Ukraine had not commented.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak also said Ukraine had attacked two refineries on October 14. Ukrainian presidential adviser Dmytro Lytvyn called that statement a lie.

The announcement follows Trump’s Russian diesel deal, which Zelensky has criticized. Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to supply diesel to markets as Washington sought lower energy costs ahead of U.S. midterm elections.

The United States planned to import Russian diesel and ease sanctions to allow the purchases. In a separate interview with British broadcaster Piers Morgan on October 14, Zelensky said he felt betrayed by the agreement and described it as a victory for the Kremlin.