Ukraine resumes strikes on Russian oil refineries; Trump calls move "a disgrace"

Ukraine struck an oil refinery in Russia's Ryazan Oblast on Thursday, October 15, 2026, triggering a fire at the site, Russia's Defence Ministry said, according to Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera reported the refinery is located about 180 kilometers southeast of Moscow, while Kyiv Post put the distance at roughly 300 kilometers. The ministry described it as a "large-scale attack" and said the blaze started after drone debris fell onto the facility, according to Al Jazeera.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the Financial Times, in an interview Kyiv Post reported was published Thursday, October 15, 2026, that Kyiv would no longer observe a pause on hitting Russian refineries. "The block [on attacking refineries] is out. We're done," Zelenskyy said, according to Kyiv Post, which cited the Financial Times interview; Al Jazeera also referenced the remarks.

What the energy ceasefire was

Trump had unilaterally announced an "energy ceasefire" on a prior Sunday, proposing a deal that would let Russia export 1.8 million tonnes of diesel in an effort to ease fuel prices in the United States ahead of November's midterm elections, according to Al Jazeera. Ukraine had temporarily suspended its refinery strikes at Washington's request, Kyiv Post reported.

Zelenskyy said Russia kept attacking Ukraine's power grid and missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian cities continued through the pause, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without electricity, per Kyiv Post. He proposed a reciprocal arrangement instead: Ukraine would stop hitting Russian diesel infrastructure only if Russia halted strikes on Ukraine's electrical grid.

Trump's reaction

Asked by Newsmax about Ukraine's decision to resume the strikes, Trump said: "Well, I think that's a disgrace," according to NBC News. He argued the attacks were counterproductive, saying: "If you tell me that Zelenskyy is again shooting at refineries, all he's doing is making the world oil price higher," and added that Ukraine had "plenty of other targets; they don't have to hit."

Trump also criticized Zelenskyy personally, telling Newsmax he found the Ukrainian leader "more difficult to deal with than Putin," and separately said "Zelenskyy is not a good guy for us to deal with," according to NBC News and Kyiv Post.

Zelenskyy's response and the Starlink dispute

Zelenskyy accused Washington of weakening Ukraine's position on the battlefield and said he felt the US was siding with Moscow. In a separate interview with British broadcaster Piers Morgan, Zelenskyy said: "It's painful when President Trump chooses one side, not our side," according to Al Jazeera.

Separately, Ukraine reported that the military version of its Starlink satellite internet service had been throttled without warning, disrupting communications and drone operations, NBC News reported. SpaceX chief Elon Musk said such decisions fell to US military leadership; NBC News reported that Kyiv announced on Thursday that the service was being restored. Zelenskyy traveled to Brussels on Friday to seek stronger backing from European leaders, whom he described as "real leaders," according to NBC News.

Why it matters

The dispute exposes a widening gap between Washington's push to stabilize global energy prices before the US midterm elections in November and Kyiv's insistence that it will not unilaterally restrain its strikes while Russian attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure continue, according to Al Jazeera and Kyiv Post. Energy analysts cited by Kyiv Post said Trump's diesel proposal was unlikely to significantly lower fuel prices, pointing instead to US-Israel-Iran tensions disrupting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz as the main driver of costs.