In brief
President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced that Ukraine will again target Russian oil refineries after a three‑day pause at Washington’s request, accusing the United States of pulling key intelligence sharing and satellite support. He said the pause was a political move and that he will only halt further attacks if the U.S. supplies additional Patriot air‑defence missiles. Moscow claims a large‑scale missile attack on a refinery near Ryazan was intercepted, sparking a fire. Meanwhile, Ukraine criticised the U.S. for allowing it to import Russian diesel, arguing it supports Moscow’s war machine. Zelensky’s remarks come as international leaders, including Britain, rally around him during a summit in Brussels.
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, told the Financial Times in London that Kyiv will resume strikes against Russian oil refineries after a three‑day pause imposed at Washington’s request. He said the pause was politically motivated and that he would only suspend further attacks if the United States supplied sufficient Patriot air‑defence systems.
Zelensky blamed Washington for withdrawing intelligence‑sharing that alerts Ukraine of incoming Russian bombardments, and for restricting the speed of Starlink satellite bandwidth used by the Ukrainian military. He added that the U.S. had threatened to block such intelligence if Kyiv continued its strikes.
The Kremlin said Russia had launched a large‑scale attack on a refinery south of Moscow on Thursday, which the Russian Defence Ministry said was intercepted by missiles and drones and resulted in a fire at the Ryazan site. Meanwhile, Russia denied the attack and said Ukrainian forces had been overblown.
Ukraine said dozens of cities were hit by Russian strikes in the past day and that the energy ceasefire announced by former President Donald Trump was unmet by Moscow, which left hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians without power.
Zelensky also criticised a recent U.S. deal that released 300,000 tonnes of diesel to the global market, claiming it effectively funded Russia’s war machine. He said the U.S. was investing in Moscow’s fuel supply at the expense of Ukraine.
During his visit, Zelensky met with Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who announced the UK would accelerate delivery of lightweight multi‑role missiles to Kyiv, a key element of the president’s earlier demand for more U.S. air‑defence support.
The conversation highlighted growing tensions between Kyiv and Washington, with Zelensky noting that a “political will” rather than technical fault was behind the earlier Starlink restrictions. The U.S. government has not commented on the matter.
The upcoming European summit in Brussels will likely address these issues, as NATO and EU leaders work to support Ukraine amid the ongoing war.
