LONDON — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Kyiv will resume drone and missile strikes against Russian oil refineries, signaling the collapse of a proposed energy truce and underscoring a deepening rift with the United States.
Speaking to the Financial Times in London, Zelenskyy declared that Ukraine would no longer hold back from attacking Russian fuel facilities. “The block [on attacking refineries] is out. We’re done,” Zelenskyy told the newspaper, pointing to persistent Russian bombardments and escalating friction with President Donald Trump.
Rift With Washington Widens
The decision follows days of sharp strain between Kyiv and Washington. Last week, Trump disclosed an arrangement to purchase Russian diesel in an effort to curb domestic fuel prices ahead of midterm elections, CNN reported. Trump also pushed Ukraine to halt its long-range attacks on Russian energy sites.
In an interview with British broadcaster Piers Morgan broadcast late Wednesday, Zelenskyy said he felt let down by the Trump administration’s posture toward Moscow, confirming he felt betrayed by recent events. Zelenskyy characterized Trump’s diesel arrangement as a “simple victory” for the Kremlin and warned that taking sides against Kyiv was “not the right side of history,” CNN reported.
Zelenskyy also told the Financial Times that American officials warned their Ukrainian counterparts that the U.S. would cut off intelligence sharing if Ukraine continued striking Russian energy infrastructure. While the Trump administration publicly maintained that sharing continued, Ukrainian officials reported a sudden absence of advance warnings regarding incoming Russian missile strikes, according to CNN.
Starlink Limits and Broken Truce
Operational difficulties in Kyiv grew worse Wednesday when Ukraine reported that service on Starshield, the military-grade variant of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network, was curbed. Zelenskyy told Morgan that the outage compromised defenses against Iranian-designed Shahed drones and warned that “people will die” as a consequence, CNN reported.
SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk posted on X that Starshield equipment is “owned and controlled by the US government,” adding that any usage caps are determined by the American military and president. Musk added that commercial Starlink services are restricted to civilian or defensive operations and cannot support offensive strikes, CNBC reported.
The collapse of restraint comes after Trump announced an “energy ceasefire” scheduled to begin Sunday, Oct. 11. Zelenskyy stated that Ukrainian forces complied with the framework for three days. However, Ukraine reported that Moscow breached the lull overnight into Oct. 14 with a massive assault consisting of 39 ballistic missiles and more than 120 drones directed at energy networks across Kyiv and Kharkiv, cutting power to more than 600,000 residents, according to Ukrainian officials and CNN.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak claimed Wednesday that Ukraine had hit two refineries in Russia’s Saratov and Ryazan regions, Ukrainska Pravda reported. Dmytro Lytvyn, a communications adviser to Zelenskyy, rejected that allegation as fabricated news, telling Ukrinform that Ukrainian forces had struck a Russian data center and other targets, but not oil refineries.
What Comes Next
Zelenskyy met in London on Wednesday with British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and King Charles to consolidate European military and diplomatic backing amid the U.S. policy shift. Neither the White House nor SpaceX responded to requests for comment regarding the communications restrictions, CNBC reported. It remains unclear whether Washington will carry out threatened halts to intelligence access as Ukrainian forces prepare to resume refinery attacks.
