Ukraine carried out a drone strike on a Russian oil refinery on Thursday, hours after President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that the energy ceasefire brokered by the Trump administration was no longer in effect. The attack targeted a refinery in the Ryazan region, southeast of Moscow, according to Russia's Defense Ministry and regional governor Pavel Malkov, as reported by Reuters.
Malkov said on Telegram that emergency services were on site and assessing the material damage. A senior Ukrainian official confirmed the strike to The Associated Press, though Kyiv has not yet issued an official statement.
Zelensky's frustration boils over
Zelensky's decision to abandon the truce comes after weeks of mounting irritation with Washington. In an interview with the Financial Times on Thursday, he said Ukraine's patience had run out: "The block is out. We're done." He also told British journalist Piers Morgan on his YouTube series "Uncensored" that he felt betrayed by President Trump's deal allowing Russian diesel imports into the U.S. and by the slowdown of SpaceX's Starlink satellite services that are critical to Ukraine's military communications.
"Really, yes, between us," Zelensky said when asked if he felt betrayed. "Our country has to survive, and we count on our real partners, strategic partners, the United States and President Trump... Energy ceasefire, it's OK, it's understandable. It's the worst version of peace but, anyway, it's some steps to the peace."
He described the Trump administration's behavior as "really strange" and "not like between partners," specifically pointing to the Starlink slowdown as "some actually crazy steps between us." Ukraine's former defense minister Mykhailo Fedorov said Wednesday that SpaceX was restoring speeds of up to 160 kilometers per hour, but Zelensky warned that the disruption was a "big mistake" and could cost Ukrainian lives if not fully resolved.
Zelensky: U.S. on wrong side of history
In the same interview, Zelensky delivered a sharp rebuke of the U.S. stance, saying Washington is not "on the right side of history." He added: "That's why it's painful when President Trump chooses one side, not our side but we are OK that he's in the middle. But if you're in the middle you have to stay in the middle not on the wrong side. I think his advisers are wrong. I don't know who is pushing him not to the right side. This is not right side of history."
The Ukrainian leader had previously blasted Trump's diesel deal as a "gift" to Russian President Vladimir Putin, warning that Russia "will 'repay' the diesel with further terror and perfidy."
GOP backlash over diesel deal
Trump's decision to allow Russian diesel imports has also drawn bipartisan criticism in Washington. Republican senators Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, John Curtis, Thom Tillis, and Alan Armstrong, along with Democrats Ron Wyden, Richard Blumenthal, and Jeanne Shaheen, issued a joint statement arguing that the move "runs directly counter" to a 2022 statute banning Russian energy imports. The lawmakers said they received no consultation or advance warning about the deal.
Senator Tillis has also asked the Pentagon's inspector general to investigate the Starlink issues and called on Elon Musk to provide more transparency. The combination of the diesel deal and the Starlink disruption has fueled concerns among lawmakers that the administration is undermining Ukraine's ability to defend itself. As the situation develops, the resumption of strikes on Russian energy infrastructure could escalate tensions further and complicate any future peace efforts.
