Ukraine to Restart Oil Refinery Attacks, Accuses Washington of Betrayal

Ukraine will resume strikes on Russian oil refineries, Volodymyr Zelensky has declared, accusing the United States of withdrawing crucial support in an attempt to force Kyiv into ending the campaign altogether. The Ukrainian president said he had restricted such attacks for three days at Washington's behest, while Russia continued striking Ukrainian energy infrastructure. "We're done," he told the Financial Times.

The Kremlin said Ukraine had attempted a large-scale attack on an oil refinery south of Moscow early on Thursday. According to Russia's defence ministry, four missiles and dozens of drones were intercepted, and falling debris caused a fire at the site in Ryazan. Zelensky, meanwhile, said dozens of Ukrainian cities had come under Russian attack in the past day.

He previously said he would agree to the so-called energy ceasefire announced by US President Donald Trump on Sunday if Moscow also abided by it. But he accused Russia of ignoring the proposed deal within hours of it being announced, with strikes leaving hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians without power. The Kremlin never said it agreed to the deal.

Zelensky agreed that he felt betrayed by the US when asked by Piers Morgan on Wednesday night, after Washington appeared to withdraw key elements of its support. The Ukrainian leader told the FT that Ukrainian officials had been told by US counterparts that if they would not stop the strikes, intelligence would be blocked.

Ukraine's military relies on US early-warning alerts of incoming Russian aerial attacks to mount air defences, limiting successful strikes, while Starlink internet links are used throughout its war effort to guide drones and protect its skies. After Starlink unexpectedly restricted the speed at which drones could fly while still maintaining internet connection on Tuesday, there were suggestions a technical glitch was to blame. But owner Elon Musk appeared to deny this, suggesting it was the Trump administration's doing. Trump denied halting intelligence-sharing. "It was not a technical problem, it was the will," Zelensky told the FT.

Sources in Ukraine's Ministry of Defence told the BBC early on Thursday that Starshield services - the military-focused version of Starlink - had been restored. They said officials were still working to clarify the reasons and circumstances behind yesterday's restrictions.

Zelensky spoke to the FT during a visit to London on Wednesday which also included a meeting with Prime Minister Andy Burnham in Downing Street, who announced the UK would speed up delivery of lightweight multirole missiles to Kyiv. European leaders have also rallied around Zelensky, with the matter expected to dominate their summit in Brussels later on Thursday.

The Ukrainian president told the newspaper he would now only halt strikes on Russian oil infrastructure - which Kyiv says are vital to cutting off revenue streams to its war machine - if the US supplied more Patriot air defence missiles. Ukraine has suffered a shortage of the US-made defences since the outbreak of the Iran war consumed stockpiles.

Striking a more defiant tone than recently, the Ukrainian president told the newspaper his American counterpart had an affinity for autocratic leaders like Russia's Vladimir Putin. He said it was not up to him to mend US-Ukrainian relations given the events of the past week. "We didn't destroy any relationship."

Tensions have previously frayed between the two leaders. After returning to the White House last year, the pair shared a fiery Oval Office meeting in which Trump implied Zelensky was the main block to a peace deal. Zelensky has since walked a careful diplomatic line, showing willingness towards US-brokered deals while stressing that the terms of any peace deal must be just.

But he criticised the agreement between Russia and the US to release 300,000 tonnes of diesel to the US and global marketplace, struck last week, as the US effectively investing in Russia's war effort. That deal was the latest effort by Trump to lower fuel prices in the US ahead of the midterm elections, after months spent grappling with the political consequences of the Iran war. That conflict has sent the cost of petrol - and in particular diesel - skyrocketing, souring his standing with the American public. Zelensky told the FT: "The question will be: when will the next deal be? Maybe it will be gas. Definitely it will be gas."

With Russia continuing to strike Ukraine, Zelensky suggested the disruptions to US support were no coincidence. High-speed internet via Starlink satellites is used by the Ukrainian military to guide drones and communicate with the front line. Ukrainian officials have said they were not warned before a speed limit was imposed on the uplink. Its sister service Starshield is provided under a US Department of Defense contract.

Musk denied that his company SpaceX was responsible for restrictions on the system, suggesting the US government could be responsible for the slowdown. He wrote on Wednesday that the systems were owned and controlled by the US government and that any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately Trump. The Trump administration has not commented on the issue. The BBC has approached the White House and the DoD for comment.

As Kyiv prepares to resume its campaign against Russian oil infrastructure, the consequences of Moscow's unprovoked invasion continue to mount for Ukraine's civilian population. The World House, which maintains a dedicated page outlining its support for Ukraine at worldhouse.uk/support, continues to document the human cost of Russia's brutal aggression.