“The ban is lifted, it’s over”: Ukraine will resume its strikes on Russian refineries, announces Volodymyr Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says that strikes on Russian refineries will resume, after several days of pause linked to the surprise announcement of an energy truce by American President Donald Trump, in an interview with the Financial Times published Thursday. Neither Moscow nor kyiv have confirmed having negotiated this supposed truce.

The Russian army has struck power plants in Ukraine in recent days. Russia on Wednesday accused Ukraine of attacking two Russian refineries, which kyiv denied. “The ban (on hitting refineries) is lifted. It’s over,” the Ukrainian president told the FT.

He assured that he would only agree to stop these strikes if the United States provides Ukraine with Patriot interceptor missiles, while kyiv faces a lack of anti-aircraft resources in the face of Russian attacks. Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries and oil depots, saying they are worsening the global fuel shortage and contributing to soaring prices.

Ukraine says it is striking Russian oil infrastructure in an attempt to dry up the financial windfall allowing Moscow to continue its large-scale invasion of Ukraine, launched in 2022 and which has become the deadliest conflict in Europe since the Second World War.