The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, ordered the resumption of attacks on Russian oil refineries in a new escalation of the confrontation with Donald Trump over restrictions on U.S. intelligence assistance.
Zelensky said he was ending a three-day pause in the strikes in response to the American president’s call on Sunday for an “energy cease-fire,” after accusing Trump and billionaire Elon Musk of limiting Kyiv’s ability to defend itself against Russian missile and drone attacks.
Hours after the president announced the measure, the Starshield internet terminals used by Ukrainian forces apparently returned to normal operation. Starshield operations were restored, and the Defense Ministry in Kyiv continued to talk with the United States to understand why the service had been restricted previously, said a person familiar with the matter who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.
Moscow continued to attack energy infrastructure and Ukrainian civilian targets in recent days, increasing the death toll.
“The blockade is over. We are finished,” said the Ukrainian president about the pause on refinery attacks, in an interview with the Financial Times published Thursday in London.
The decision deepens one of the gravest ruptures between Zelensky and Trump since the latter returned to the White House in January last year, promising to end the Russia-Ukraine war in a day. It comes after the notorious clash between the two leaders in the Oval Office in February last year, and the United States’ attempts to pressure Kyiv to accept a 28-point peace plan broadly favorable to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump, in an interview broadcast Thursday night on Newsmax, said that “is not a big fan of Zelensky,” reiterating that he wants both the Ukrainian leader and Putin to stop attacking each other’s countries.
“Now, if you tell me that Zelensky is attacking refineries again, all he is doing is driving up the world price of oil, and he is doing that. Well, I think that’s a shame,” Trump said.
“There are many other targets. They don’t need to attack. There are many targets they could hit, but when you attack diesel refineries, where diesel is produced, and we need that, and the world needs that, then he is not doing a good service to the world,” he added.
Reflecting investor concerns about Ukraine’s security prospects, the country’s dollar-denominated sovereign bonds this week underperformed all other emerging and frontier markets. Several of them fell on Thursday to the lowest levels since April or early May.
Trump announced last week that he had struck a deal with Putin to permit the sale of diesel to the United States and global markets, in a bid to lower fuel prices ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, even as Russia continues its relentless missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities and their energy and water supply networks.
A fire hit a petroleum refinery in the Russian Ryazan region after a wide drone attack overnight and into Thursday morning, regional governor Pavel Malkov said in a Telegram post.
Ukraine did not comment officially on the incident. Zelensky did not mention any refinery in a post on X about Kyiv’s attacks overnight Thursday, highlighting actions against a military air base in the Russian Voronezh region and against an unspecified target in the Black Sea.
A Ukrainian Long Neptune missile struck the air base, destroying four Su-34 fighters and damaging two more, Zelensky claimed. “These warplanes were ready to launch new attacks against Ukraine and were loaded with aerial bombs,” he said.
The U.S. president has been increasing pressure on Zelensky to halt attacks on Russian refineries, which are among Ukraine’s most effective means of undermining the Kremlin’s war economy. Trump, however, did not press Putin to halt bombardments of Ukraine.
Zelensky expressed a sense of betrayal regarding the diesel deal and the restrictions imposed by the United States on the Ukrainian military use of satellite terminals provided by SpaceX’s Musk in a separate interview with British journalist Piers Morgan in London on Wednesday.
“It’s a pity that we are losing, we are losing a strong partner. That is my opinion,” Zelensky said. “It’s painful when President Trump chooses a side, and that side is not ours.”
Ukraine sought explanations from the United States and NATO allies after reporting on Wednesday a sudden restriction on the Starshield service, following a wave of Russian missile and drone attacks against power plants.
Zelensky arrived in Brussels on Thursday for meetings aimed at reinforcing support for Ukraine with leaders present at the European Council summit. Some Kyiv allies have already expressed concern about the United States’ rapprochement with Russia.
“Pretending that Russia is returning to be a normal member of the G20 and can simply sit back at the table will not happen with me or with the other Europeans,” said German Vice-Chancellor Lars Klingbeil on Thursday.
“No one will convince me that the surrender of those who defend their freedom can be called peace,” said Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in a speech to the Italian Senate on Wednesday.
The Dutch Prime Minister, Rob Jetten, described Thursday Trump’s diesel deal with Putin as “ridiculous,” saying the American president has made a “terrible decision” that will not help reduce energy prices.
“The U.S. president overestimated his ability to persuade Putin to accept peace merely by treating him well,” Jetten told journalists ahead of the European Union summit. “What matters is to increase the pressure and the cost to Russia until it has no choice but to accept peace.”
Zelensky said that the restrictions on the Starshield network resulted in civilian deaths because Ukraine’s interception systems using that technology no longer worked as effectively in defending against explosive-laden Russian drones.
“I’m sure they knew what they were doing, absolutely,” Zelensky told Morgan when asked whether the satellite service usage by Ukraine had been deliberately interrupted. “I think this is wrong. It’s a big mistake.”
Musk reacted to Zelensky’s accusations with a post on X, the platform he owns, urging the Ukrainian president to step down.
“Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the United States government,” Musk wrote in another X post. “The decisions about their use are made by the U.S. military and, ultimately, by Trump,” he added.
“And so the massacre goes on…
It’s long past time for Zelensky to leave.”
The appeal from Musk echoed a suggestion made by Trump on Saturday that Zelensky should consider stepping down as Ukraine’s president.
The United States briefly suspended military aid and intelligence-sharing with Ukraine after the Oval Office confrontation last year, though both were resumed after new negotiations.
The 28-point peace plan drawn up in November last year by Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Kremlin adviser Kirill Dmitriev, required significant concessions of territory and the size of Ukraine’s armed forces by Kyiv. At the time, Zelensky warned Ukrainians that the country could face a choice between preserving its “dignity” and risking losing a key partner.
Zelensky told the Financial Times that Trump “loves” autocrats when asked about his relationship with Putin.
“He talks about it openly and loudly,” Zelensky said. “Because, to him, people who can remain leaders for 20 years, 30 years, 40 years mean they are very strong.”
© 2026 Bloomberg L.P.
