Ukraine Hits Russian Oil Refinery as Zelensky Ends Trump-Backed Energy Truce
By Shahzaib Saqib — SCN NEWS
KYIV— Ukraine struck a major Russian oil refinery on Thursday after President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv would resume attacks on Moscow's energy infrastructure, escalating tensions with Washington and undermining a proposed ceasefire announced by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Russian authorities said Ukrainian drones targeted a refinery in the Ryazan region southeast of Moscow, causing a fire at the facility. Regional Governor Pavel Malkov said emergency crews were responding and the extent of the damage was being assessed, while a Ukrainian official confirmed that Kyiv had carried out the attack.
The strike followed Zelensky's declaration that Ukraine would no longer suspend attacks on Russian refineries after Moscow continued launching missiles and drones against Ukrainian power facilities. The renewed offensive raised questions about Trump's attempt to halt attacks on energy infrastructure and exposed a deepening dispute between Kyiv and Washington over how to end the war.
Trump announced on Sunday that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to stop attacking each other's energy facilities, but neither government publicly confirmed a formal agreement. Ukrainian officials said Kyiv nevertheless suspended refinery strikes for three days in response to the U.S. initiative, while Moscow continued targeting Ukrainian infrastructure.
In an interview with the Financial Times published on Thursday, Zelensky said Ukraine's willingness to observe the proposed restrictions had ended because Russia had not reciprocated.
"The block (on attacking refineries) is out. We're done," Zelensky told the newspaper, making clear that Ukraine intended to resume operations against facilities it considers important to Russia's war effort.
The Kremlin accused Kyiv of undermining American diplomatic efforts. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries contradicted Washington's attempts to advance peace negotiations and disputed Kyiv's assertion that it had temporarily halted such operations.
Moscow had previously said the scope of the proposed energy ceasefire remained undefined. Russian officials also acknowledged striking Ukrainian energy infrastructure this week, underscoring the absence of an agreed mechanism for monitoring or enforcing the restrictions announced by Trump.
The Russian Defence Ministry said Ukrainian drones attacked the Ryazan refinery overnight and that falling drone debris caused a fire. The facility, operated by state-controlled oil producer Rosneft, supplies fuel to Moscow and accounts for nearly 5% of Russia's total oil refining throughput.
Ryazan Governor Malkov said the attack also damaged a warehouse elsewhere in the region. Authorities cancelled classes at schools and kindergartens in two districts as air defences responded to the drone activity, although officials did not immediately provide a comprehensive assessment of damage at the refinery.
Ukraine has increasingly used long-range drones to strike Russian refineries, fuel depots and other energy facilities, arguing that such operations weaken Moscow's ability to finance and sustain its invasion. The attacks have disrupted refining operations and contributed to fuel supply difficulties inside Russia, while also drawing criticism from Washington over their potential effect on international energy prices.
Trump has pressed Ukraine to stop targeting Russian refineries, arguing that the strikes have contributed to rising diesel prices at a time when global fuel markets are already under pressure from the conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran.
The U.S. president has also pursued arrangements involving Russian diesel supplies, a policy that Zelensky has criticized as potentially providing Moscow with additional revenue while Russian forces continue their offensive in Ukraine.
The disagreement has added to tensions between Washington and Kyiv, which remains heavily dependent on American military technology, intelligence and air defence systems. Zelensky accused the United States of restricting capabilities needed to protect Ukrainian cities and conduct military operations, including the use of satellite communications equipment.
Ukrainian officials have complained that they were not receiving the usual U.S. early-warning intelligence about incoming Russian ballistic missiles. Zelensky also questioned restrictions affecting the military version of SpaceX's Starlink satellite communications system, known as Starshield, which Ukrainian forces use for some battlefield operations.
SpaceX founder Elon Musk said in a social media post that Starshield systems were owned and controlled by the U.S. government and that decisions about their operational limits rested with the American military and ultimately the president.
The claims about intelligence sharing and communications restrictions have intensified concern in Kyiv about the reliability of U.S. support. Trump has denied that Washington stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine, and the full extent of any operational changes has not been independently established.
Zelensky indicated that Ukraine might consider suspending refinery attacks again if Washington supplied additional Patriot air defence interceptors, which Kyiv needs to protect cities and critical infrastructure from Russian ballistic missiles.
The dispute comes as Russia intensifies its aerial campaign against Ukraine. Ukrainian emergency services said three people were killed and six injured in the central Kirovohrad region following an overnight attack, while energy company Naftogaz reported damage to a gas production facility in the Poltava region that forced operations to stop.
Zelensky said Russia had launched more than 850 drones overnight, striking across multiple Ukrainian regions. Ukraine's air force reported intercepting 536 drones, with impacts recorded at 31 locations. The figures could not be independently verified.
Russia's Defence Ministry separately said its air defences had intercepted 166 Ukrainian drones overnight. Both countries have continued launching extensive aerial attacks despite diplomatic efforts to reduce strikes on civilian and energy infrastructure.
Ukraine's military also reported an attack on Russia's Borisoglebsk airfield in the Voronezh region, claiming that six Russian Su-34 military aircraft had been destroyed. The claim could not be independently confirmed, and there was no immediate detailed Russian assessment of the reported losses.
The renewed fighting has complicated European diplomatic efforts to support Ukraine while maintaining cooperation with Washington. Zelensky travelled to Brussels on Thursday for discussions with European leaders about military assistance, sanctions on Russia and Ukraine's ability to withstand further attacks on its energy network.
European officials have expressed concern that pressure on Kyiv to suspend its attacks without equivalent restrictions on Moscow could leave Ukraine more vulnerable. The European Union has continued backing Ukraine's defence and has called for additional measures to constrain Russia's capacity to wage war.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, triggering the largest European conflict in decades and prompting extensive Western sanctions. Repeated attempts to negotiate a ceasefire have failed to produce a lasting agreement, with both governments maintaining sharply different positions on territory, security guarantees and the conditions for ending hostilities.
The latest refinery attack illustrates the difficulty of negotiating even limited restrictions on military operations while the wider conflict continues. Ukraine says attacks on Russian energy facilities are a response to Moscow's bombardment of Ukrainian infrastructure, while Russia accuses Kyiv of obstructing diplomatic efforts.
With neither side having publicly accepted binding terms for the proposed energy ceasefire, Thursday's developments leave Trump's initiative without a clear path forward. The dispute also raises the prospect of further strains between Washington and Kyiv as Ukraine seeks to maintain its military capabilities and Russia continues its campaign against Ukrainian infrastructure.