President Volodymyr Zelensky has resumed strikes on Vladimir Putin‘s oil refineries after he expressed anger over Donald Trump‘s ‘betrayal’ at a time of intense Russian attacks.
In an interview with the Financial Times, the Ukrainian leader said the cutting off of US intelligence sharing and the simultaneous weakening of Starlink satellite internet service was ‘dangerous’ for civilians.
‘The block [on attacking refineries] is out. We’re done,’ Zelensky said defiantly.
It comes as a big drone attack on Russia’s Ryazan region caused a fire to break out at an oil refinery, marking the first Ukrainian strike on an energy facility since Trump announced on Sunday a surprise ‘energy ceasefire’.
Separately, a fuel terminal spectacularly reignited after blazing for five days in Rostov-on-Don.
Zelensky had paused energy strikes for three days to comply with US wishes, but said he would now resume them because Putin was still attacking Ukraine‘s energy infrastructure.
Elon Musk – whose company SpaceX operates the Starlink satellites which have slowed down in recent days – took to X to condemn Ukraine’s resumption of attacks on Russia’s oil facilities.
‘And so the slaughter continues,’ the tech billionaire wrote. ‘Time for Zelensky to go.’
Zelensky accused Donald Trump of a ‘betrayal’ over the loss of crucial satellite data in an episode of Piers Morgan Uncensored
Ukraine strikes a key Russian airbase in Voronezh region, home to Putin’s Su-34, Su-35 and Su-30SM fighter jets
Putin’s oil infrastructure was today on fire again as a fuel terminal spectacularly reignited after blazing for five days in Rostov-on-Don
Zelensky lambasted Trump over his apparent admiration for Putin, accusing the US president of having an instinctive affinity for autocrats and the super-wealthy.
Trump has in recent days demanded Zelensky quit as leader, signed a ‘treacherous’ deal with Putin to buy Russian diesel and blamed Zelensky for spiralling energy prices.
‘He [Trump] speaks about it openly and loudly that he loves such people and he respects such people. Because for him people who can be leaders 20 years, 30 years, 40 years, it means they can be very strong,’ Zelensky said.
Washington has piled pressure on Kyiv to stop striking Putin’s refineries, claiming that a moratorium, alongside a US deal with Moscow to buy hundreds of thousands of tonnes of Russian diesel, is necessary to bring down American fuel prices.
Despite Ukraine’s honouring of the ceasefire, Zelensky said his military had been left without US early-warning alerts for incoming ballistic missiles, while Musk’s Starlink satellite communications service had been slowed down across the nation, interfering with frontline operations and medium-range strikes against Russian military sites.
The Ukrainian leader said his military officials were told by their US counterparts that ‘if you will not stop [the energy strikes], we will block intelligence’, although it was subsequently presented to Kyiv as a technical error.
‘It was not a technical problem, it was the will,’ Zelensky told the FT.
The US president earlier denied that Washington had cut off intelligence sharing with Kyiv.
Meanwhile, Musk posted on X late on Wednesday that Starshield systems, the military-grade satellite network built on Starlink technology, were ‘owned and controlled by the US government’.
‘Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS,’ he said, referring to Trump.
The breakdown in relations between Kyiv and Washington comes as American officials have proposed that European countries unfreeze some Russian sovereign assets immobilised after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
The assets would be transferred to a vehicle overseen by Washington in an attempt to revive peace talks.
European delegates rebuffed the plan, which was pitched by US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, the FT said.
Tension between Ukraine and its most important security partner has spiralled to its worst level since Trump and his senior aides gave Zelensky a public dressing-down in the Oval Office in February last year.
Zelensky emphasised that Ukraine’s relationship with the US as an ‘honest’ and ‘strategic’ partner was pivotal in the fight against Moscow, comparing it to Kyiv’s relationship with Britain.
‘Russia can fight… all of us but only when we are not together,’ Zelensky said.
He insisted it was not up to him to mend relations with the White House, saying: ‘We didn’t destroy any relationship.’
Asked whether Kyiv would halt energy strikes even if Moscow continued, as a way of reducing tension with the White House, he said he could only agree if in return he was given more US-made Patriot interceptors.
That was the ‘minimum’ that he asked for, he said, adding that when he requested more air defences the American response was to weaken Starlink’s service.
Zelensky added that halting energy strikes also risked only encouraging the US and Russia to pursue more deals, potentially providing more money for Putin’s war coffers.
‘The question will be when will the next deal be? Maybe it will be gas. Definitely it will be gas,’ the Ukrainian leader said.
‘Business is interesting between the United States and Russia,’ he noted. ‘I think that they [America] want to have energy projects and… [that] of course for them is difficult to have when there is war in Europe.’
The ‘energy ceasefire’ was announced just days after Trump declared a deal to import nearly two million tonnes of Russian diesel over the next few months.
He is under pressure to reduce fuel prices as the US heads towards midterm elections next month, which are predicted to be a bloodbath for his Republican Party.
Zelensky suggested Trump could face a public backlash following his actions, however.
‘This politically is not simple [in America], because everybody will want to ask how it can be when some people are surviving, fighting, dying – and you make… business with the guys with such aggression,’ he said.
Speaking on Piers Morgan Uncensored, Zelensky agreed he felt ‘betrayed’ by Trump’s actions over the past few days, and warned the president: ‘This is not the right side of history.’
Zelensky and Burnham embraced as the Ukrainian leader arrived at Downing Street on Wednesday
Zelensky was in central London after a day of discussions with King Charles, UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham and defence officials.
On Thursday he is addressing EU leaders in Brussels to lobby for more robust sanctions against Moscow and a faster release of EU funds to assist Ukraine’s war effort.
He said fighting without Washington would be ‘very difficult’ and conceded Europe would be stronger if truly united.
But a succession of elections in Europe over the next 12 months, with possible gains for pro-Kremlin parties, could bring ‘a lot of challenges’ for Kyiv, he admitted.
