Russia accuses Ukraine of attacking oil refinery after Zelensky says strikes to resume

Russia has accused Ukraine of attacking an oil refinery after Volodymyr Zelensky said such strikes, which had been halted at the request of the US, would resume.

The Ukrainian president said he had restricted attacks for three days while Russia had continued striking Ukrainian energy infrastructure. "We're done," he told the Financial Times, external.

Zelensky also accused the US of withdrawing intelligence-sharing on Russian strikes to pressure Kyiv into ending the attacks altogether after it struck a deal to import Russian diesel, and said restrictions to Starlink satellite services used by Ukraine's military were deliberate.

The Kremlin has since said Kyiv attempted a large-scale attack" on a refinery south of Moscow early on Thursday.

According to Russia's defence ministry, four missiles and dozens of drones were intercepted and the falling debris had 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 you will not stop [the strikes], we will block intelligence".

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 the unexpected restriction to the speed at which drones could fly while still maintaining Starlink 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's "operation while on the move" had been restored, referring to the the military-focused version of Starlink.

They said officials were still working to clarify "the reasons and circumstances behind yesterday's restrictions".

Neo, a soldier with one of Ukraine's drone reconnaissance units, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that any deliberate restrictions on the Starlink network would be "a betrayal".

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 was no coincidence.

Ukrainian officials have said they were not warned before a speed limit was imposed on the Starlink uplink, whose sister service Starshield is provided to Ukraine under a US Department of Defense (DoD) contract.

The BBC has approached the White House and the DoD for comment.

Meanwhile, local officials reported at least 13 people had been killed across Ukraine in what Zelensky called a "constant", large-scale Russian attack over the past day. He said more than 850 drones had been launched at dozens of cities and communities.

At least three people were killed in the central region of Kirovohrad as it suffered its largest attack since Russia's full-scale invasion began in 2022, officials there said, with nearly 360 drones launched during a 10-hour barrage.

Deaths were also reported in Donetsk, Kherson and Volyn.

"It is clear that Russia deliberately escalated these attacks, taking advantage of the easing of sanctions and seeing attempts to pressure Ukraine," Zelensky wrote on social media.