Ukraine will resume strikes on Russian oil refineries, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said. He accused the United States of withdrawing crucial support.
Zelensky told the Financial Times that Ukraine had limited such attacks for three days at Washington's request. During that time, Russia continued to strike Ukrainian energy infrastructure. 'We're done,' he said.
Accusations against Washington
Zelensky said the US had withdrawn intelligence-sharing on Russian strikes. He claimed this was meant to pressure Kyiv into ending its attacks entirely. The move followed Ukraine's agreement to import Russian diesel.
He also said a slowdown of Starlink satellite services used by Ukraine's military was deliberate. Ukrainian officials said they had not been warned before a speed limit was placed on the uplink. Ukraine's military relies on Starlink for drone guidance and communication at the front line.
Zelensky said Ukrainian officials had been told by US counterparts: 'if you will not stop [the strikes], we will block intelligence'. He said he felt betrayed by the US when asked about it by Piers Morgan on Wednesday night.
Starlink dispute
Some reports suggested the Starlink slowdown was caused by a technical fault. Elon Musk, whose company SpaceX operates Starlink, denied this. He wrote that the systems were owned and controlled by the US government and that any limits on speed or usage were decided by the US military and ultimately by Trump. Trump has denied halting intelligence-sharing. The Trump administration has not commented on the Starlink issue. The BBC has approached the White House and the Department of Defense for comment.
Energy ceasefire and Patriot missiles
Zelensky had earlier said he would accept the so-called 'energy ceasefire' announced by Trump on Sunday, if Moscow also observed it. He accused Russia of ignoring the proposal within hours. Strikes left hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians without power. The Kremlin has never said it agreed to the deal.
Zelensky said he would halt strikes on Russian oil infrastructure only if the US supplied more Patriot air defence missiles. Ukraine has faced a shortage of these US-made systems since the Iran war consumed stockpiles. Kyiv says the refinery strikes are vital to cutting off revenue for Russia's war effort.
Zelensky also criticised a deal struck last week between Russia and the US to release 300,000 tonnes of diesel to the US and global markets. He described it as the US effectively investing in Russia's war effort. The deal came as Trump seeks to lower US fuel prices ahead of the midterm elections, after the Iran war sent petrol and diesel costs sharply higher.
Zelensky said Trump had an affinity for autocratic leaders such as Russian President Vladimir Putin. He added that it was not up to him to repair US-Ukrainian relations after the events of the past week. 'We didn't destroy any relationship,' he said.
