“Weʼre done.” Zelensky said Ukraine would resume strikes on Russian refineries

Ukraine will no longer adhere to the pause insisted on by the US and will resume strikes on Russian oil refineries.

This was stated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in an interview with the Financial Times (FT).

According to the president, Ukraine stopped strikes on Russian energy infrastructure for three days at the request of Washington. The US believed that this, along with the purchase of Russian diesel, would help lower fuel prices in America.

Meanwhile, Russia has continued to attack Ukraineʼs energy sector. Zelensky says Russian strikes have killed more than 100 people in the past week alone.

"The ban is lifted. Weʼre done," the president declared.

However, he added that Ukraine could again agree not to attack Russian energy if the US provided more interceptor missiles for Patriot air defense systems in return. Zelensky called this a minimum requirement.

According to the president, despite Ukraine agreeing not to strike Russian refineries, it was left without American warnings about ballistic missile launches, and Starlink restrictions complicated front-line operations and strikes on Russian military facilities. The president believes the problems were not technical, but intentional.

Zelensky confirmed that the Ukrainian military was warned — If Kyiv does not stop striking Russian energy facilities, Washington may block intelligence.

Separately, the president criticized the Trump administrationʼs desire to develop economic cooperation with Russia. In his opinion, after the diesel agreements, the US and Russia could move on to other energy projects, including gas. This, according to the president, could bring Moscow additional money for war.

Zelensky also commented on Trumpʼs call for him to resign, calling it "rhetoric" that only helps Putin by demonstrating the division between Ukraine, Europe, and the United States.

"It doesnʼt matter to me. Whatʼs important is that Putin doesnʼt feel pressure. When he doesnʼt feel pressure, he attacks because — you know — it gives him incredible pleasure," Zelensky noted.

What preceded

On October 11, the US President Donald Trump reported an energy ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia. According to him, both sides agreed and it began to operate “immediately”. At the same time, Volodymyr Zelensky, in a comment to Axios, stated that the reported ceasefire was news to him.

On October 12, Axios reported that Trump meant to stop reciprocal strikes on oil refineries. The same day, FT reported that the US was threatening to block arms sales to Ukraine and intelligence sharing over its strikes on Russian refineries.

The next day, October 12, Zelensky reported that Russia had attacked six Ukrainian energy facilities in a day, despite Trumpʼs energy ceasefire. At the same time, the partners did not warn Ukraine about the ballistic missile attack on Kyiv.

On October 13, Zelensky said that Ukraine had adhered to the plan announced by Trump and had not struck Russian refineries for two days. However, on the night of October 14, the Russians struck all three thermal power plants in Kyiv, and again Ukraine did not receive a warning from its partners about the preparation of the strike.

However, Donald Trump denied that the US had stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine.

In addition, on the night of October 14, “SpaceX” — without warning — restricted the operation of “Starshield” terminals, the military version of the “Starlink” satellite communication. The “SpaceX” founder Elon Musk responded that the “Starshield” systems are controlled by the US government, so their use is determined by the US military, and the final decision is made by the president. The White House called the “Starshield” restrictions in Ukraine a “technical malfunction”.

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