<\/p>\n
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ordered attacks on Russian oil refineries to resume in a spiralling confrontation with Donald Trump over restrictions on US intelligence assistance.<\/p>\n
Zelenskyy said he\u2019s ending a three-day pause on strikes in response to the US president\u2019s call on Sunday for an \u201cenergy ceasefire\u201d after he accused Trump and billionaire Elon Musk of restraining Kyiv\u2019s ability to defend itself against Russian missile and drone attacks.<\/p>\n
Hours after the president announced the move, normal service on Starshield internet terminals used by Ukraine\u2019s military appeared to have resumed. Starshield operations have been restored and the Defence Ministry in Kyiv is continuing to talk with the US about why previous service was restricted, a person familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified because the matter is sensitive.<\/p>\n
Moscow has continued attacking Ukrainian energy infrastructure and civilian targets over the last few days leading to a mounting death toll.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe block is out. We\u2019re done,\u201d the Ukrainian president said in relation to the pause on refinery strikes, in an interview with the Financial Times in London published Thursday.<\/p>\n
The decision deepens one of the most serious ruptures between Zelenskyy and Trump since the latter returned to the White House in January last year promising to end the war between Russia and Ukraine in a day. It follows the infamous Oval Office clash between the two leaders in February last year and US attempts to pressure Kyiv into accepting a 28-point peace plan that overwhelmingly favoured Russian President Vladimir Putin.<\/p>\n
Trump, in an interview that aired Thursday evening with Newsmax, said he\u2019s \u201cnot a big fan of Zelenskyy,\u201d reiterating that he wants both the Ukrainian leader and Putin to stop firing at each other\u2019s countries.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow, if you tell me that Zelenskyy is again shooting at refineries, all he\u2019s doing is making the world oil price higher, and he is doing that, well, I think that\u2019s a disgrace.\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s plenty of other targets. They don\u2019t have to hit \u2014 there are a lot of targets that you can hit, but when you shoot at diesel refineries where you make, you know, diesel oil \u2014 and we need that, and the world needs that \u2014 then he\u2019s not doing a good service for the world,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n
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Reflecting investor concern about Ukraine\u2019s security outlook, the government\u2019s dollar bonds underperformed all emerging- and frontier-market peers this week. Several traded at the weakest since April or early May on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Trump announced last week that he\u2019d struck a deal with Putin to allow diesel sales to the US and global markets to try to cut fuel prices ahead of Nov. 3 midterm elections, even as Russia continues relentless missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities targeting power and water supplies.<\/p>\n
A fire broke out at an oil refinery in Russia\u2019s Ryazan region after a mass drone attack overnight and Thursday morning, regional Governor Pavel Malkov said in a Telegram statement.<\/p>\n
Ukraine hasn\u2019t officially commented on this incident. Zelenskyy didn\u2019t mention any refinery in a statement about Kyiv\u2019s overnight strikes on X Thursday that highlighted attacks on a military airfield in Russia\u2019s southern Voronezh region and an unspecified target in the Black Sea.<\/p>\n
A Ukrainian Long Neptune missile hit the airfield, destroying four Su-34 fighter jets and damaging two more, Zelenskyy said. \u201cThese very warplanes were ready to launch new attacks on Ukraine and were loaded with aerial bombs,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The US president has piled pressure on Zelenskyy to halt attacks on Russian refineries that are among Ukraine\u2019s most effective means of disrupting the Kremlin\u2019s war economy. But Trump has made no demands on Putin to stop bombing Ukraine.<\/p>\n
Zelenskyy expressed a feeling of betrayal over the diesel deal and US restrictions on Kyiv\u2019s military use of the satellite terminals provided by Musk\u2019s SpaceX in a separate interview with British journalist Piers Morgan in London on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a pity that we are losing, we are losing a strong partner, so this is my opinion,\u201d Zelenskyy said. \u201cIt\u2019s painful when President Trump chooses one side, not our side.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Ukraine sought answers from the US and NATO allies when it reported the sudden restriction of the Starshield service on Wednesday after a wave of Russian missile and drone attacks on energy plants.<\/p>\n
Zelenskyy arrived in Brussels on Thursday for meetings to rally support for Ukraine with leaders at the European Council summit. Some of Kyiv\u2019s allies have already expressed concerns about the US tilt toward Russia.<\/p>\n
\u201cPretending that Russia is returning as a normal member of the G20 and sitting back at the table \u2014 that won\u2019t happen with me or the other Europeans,\u201d German Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil said Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one will convince me that the surrender of those who defend their freedom can be called peace,\u201d Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in an address to the Italian Senate on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten on Thursday dismissed Trump\u2019s diesel deal with Putin as \u201cridiculous,\u201d saying the US president made a \u201cvery bad decision\u201d that won\u2019t help to lower energy prices.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe US president has overestimated that he could get Putin to agree to peace eventually if he only treated him very nicely,\u201d Jetten told reporters ahead of the EU summit. \u201cThis is about building pressure and pain for Russia until they have no other choice than agreeing to peace.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zelenskyy said the limits on the Starshield network had led to civilian deaths because Ukrainian interceptors using the technology could no longer work as effectively in defending against Russian explosive-laden drones.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am sure they knew what they did, absolutely,\u201d Zelenskyy told Morgan, when asked if Ukraine\u2019s use of the satellite service had been intentionally disrupted. \u201cI think he is not right. It\u2019s a big mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n
Musk reacted to Zelenskyy\u2019s accusations with a post on the X platform which he owns, calling for the Ukrainian president to step down.<\/p>\n
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\u201cStarshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government,\u201d Musk said in a separate post on X. Decisions about their use are made by the US military and ultimately by Trump, he said.<\/p>\n
Musk\u2019s call echoed Trump\u2019s suggestion on Saturday that Zelenskyy should consider stepping aside as Ukraine\u2019s president.<\/p>\n
The US briefly suspended military assistance and intelligence sharing with Ukraine after last year\u2019s confrontation in the Oval Office, though both resumed after further negotiations.<\/p>\n
The 28-point peace plan drawn up by Trump\u2019s envoy Steve Witkoff and Kremlin aide Kirill Dmitriev last November demanded major concessions on territory and the size of Ukraine\u2019s military from Kyiv. Zelenskyy warned Ukrainians at the time that the country could face a choice between preserving its \u201cdignity\u201d and risking the loss of a key partner.<\/p>\n
Zelenskyy told the FT that Trump \u201cloves\u201d autocrats, when asked to explain his relationship with Putin.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe speaks about it openly and loudly,\u201d Zelenskyy said. \u201cBecause for him people who can be leaders 20 years, 30 years, 40 years, it means they can be very strong.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a9 2026 Bloomberg<\/p>\n
#Zelenskyy #orders #Russia #refinery #attacks #Trump #rebuke<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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