Ukraine is preparing to resume strikes on Russian oil refineries after Moscow launched a fresh wave of attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
US President Donald Trump last week declared an “energy ceasefire” without securing public confirmation from either side, while Russia continued to target Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
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Following renewed Russian strikes on energy sites yesterday, Mr Zelensky told the Financial Times: “The block (on attacking refineries) is out. We’re done.”
Since Mr Trump returned to the White House, US backing for Ukraine has shifted repeatedly, often following unexpected remarks on social media that have caught both Kyiv and Moscow off guard.
Russia said this morning that Ukraine had struck an oil refinery in Ryazan, south of Moscow.
Mr Trump had condemned Ukraine’s refinery attacks, particularly after reaching a surprise diesel agreement with Russia and directing Kyiv to halt operations against Russian refineries.
Mr Zelensky said Ukraine observed the pause for several days, despite Russian accusations — rejected by Kyiv — that Ukrainian forces had tried to strike refineries during that period.
Even after complying with the request, Mr Zelensky said Ukraine faced restrictions on access to vital US military capabilities and intelligence.
Starshield, the military satellite network built on Starlink technology, experienced a slowdown over yesterday.
“It was not a technical problem, it was the will,” Mr Zelensky told the FT.
He also described the possible suspension of intelligence sharing with Kyiv as “dangerous”, warning that Ukraine depends heavily on early alerts to defend its cities against Russian air raids.
This morning, a source in Ukraine’s defence ministry said Starshield satellite functionality while in motion had been restored.
The source said the defence ministry would keep pressing for an explanation of the reasons behind yesterday’s disruption to the military-grade version of SpaceX’s internet service, which disrupted drone operations along the frontline.
Concerns over a possible US reduction in intelligence cooperation had already emerged after a public confrontation between Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky earlier in the US president’s term.
Since then, Ukraine’s presidency has sought to repair ties with Washington while navigating Mr Trump’s shifting positions.
During the interview, Mr Zelensky offered a pointed assessment of the relationship between Mr Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Mr Trump “speaks about it openly and loudly that he loves such people and he respects such people. Because for him people who can be leaders 20 years, 30 years, 40 years, it means they can be very strong”, he said.
Ukrainian firefighters extinguish a blaze at the site of a Russian missile strike in Kyiv
Yesterday, Mr Zelensky told the Piers Morgan Uncensored programme: “It’s painful when President Trump chooses one side, not our side.”
He said he accepted Mr Trump positioning himself between Ukraine and Russia, but added: “If you are in the middle, you have to stay in the middle.”
In a message posted on Telegram after yesterday’s talks in London with British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, Mr Zelensky said: “It is clear that the Russians are trying to take advantage of the problems with Starlink in Ukraine as the operation of interceptor drones largely depends on that connection.”
Mr Burnham announced the planned delivery of £45m (€53m) in surface-to-air missiles designed to destroy jet-powered Russian drones. Of that package, £10m (€11m) will be fast-tracked to address an urgent Ukrainian requirement.
At the same time, Russia has almost completed a major new launch base for jet-powered drones in only six weeks, according to defence experts and a Reuters analysis of satellite imagery, underscoring the rapid expansion of its attack capability near Ukraine.
The site, located in Russia’s southwestern Rostov region, was an empty field on 31 August. By yesterday, commercial imagery from Planet Labs and Airbus showed a complex covering roughly 126 soccer pitches.
The rapid construction comes as Russia increases its use of jet-powered attack drones against Ukraine, whose forces have struggled to intercept the faster weapons, capable of reaching speeds of up to 600km/h.
Mike Monnik, founder and chief executive of private intelligence firm DroneSec, said the imagery indicated the facility could launch the Geran-4 and Geran-5, Russia’s newest jet-powered drone models.
He said the western edge of the site contained eight platforms for launch rails capable of firing the drones. Those platforms would add to an existing Russian network of at least 11 fixed launch locations used in attacks on Ukraine.
“The speed of construction… demonstrates the ease with which Russia can bring now-established offensive capabilities to bear rapidly,” Mr Monnik said.
The facility appeared to be nearing completion, he added, and would likely become fully operational “probably a matter of weeks” from now, “if not earlier.”
