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

Key points

• Zelensky says Ukraine will resume strikes on Russian oil infrastructure after Russia kept attacking Ukraine during a three-day pause.
• Russia's defense ministry says Ukraine attempted a large-scale attack on a Ryazan refinery south of Moscow early Thursday.
• Zelensky says the US deliberately restricted Starlink and withdrew intelligence-sharing to pressure Kyiv, while Trump denies halting it.

Russia accused Ukraine of attempting a large-scale attack on an oil refinery south of Moscow early on Thursday, after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine would resume strikes on Russian oil infrastructure. Zelensky told the Financial Times he had restricted attacks for three days while Russia continued striking Ukrainian energy sites, saying, "We're done."

According to Russia's defense ministry, four missiles and dozens of drones were intercepted and falling debris caused a fire at the site in Ryazan. Zelensky said dozens of Ukrainian cities had come under Russian attack in the past day.

What Zelensky said

Zelensky said he had agreed to the energy ceasefire announced by US President Donald Trump on Sunday only if Moscow also abided by it, but accused Russia of ignoring the proposed deal within hours of its announcement. He said strikes left hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians without power, and that the Kremlin never said it agreed to the deal.

Zelensky told the FT that US counterparts had told Ukrainian officials, "if you will not stop [the strikes], we will block intelligence." He said restrictions to Starlink satellite services used by Ukraine's military were deliberate, telling the paper, "It was not a technical problem, it was the will." He also said he would only halt strikes on Russian oil infrastructure if the US supplied more Patriot air defense missiles.

It is clear that Russia deliberately escalated these attacks, taking advantage of the easing of sanctions and seeing attempts to pressure Ukraine.

— Volodymyr Zelensky

Starlink and US tensions

Ukraine's military relies on US early-warning alerts of incoming Russian attacks and on Starlink internet links to guide drones and protect its skies. After a speed limit was imposed on Starlink uplink on Tuesday, owner Elon Musk appeared to deny a technical glitch, suggesting the Trump administration was responsible, while Trump denied halting intelligence-sharing.

Sources in Ukraine's Ministry of Defense told the BBC early on Thursday that Starshield's "operation while on the move" had been restored. A soldier in a Ukrainian drone reconnaissance unit told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that deliberate Starlink restrictions would be "a betrayal."