Ukraine to resume refinery strikes after U.S. cuts intelligence sharing, Starlink — Zelenskyy
Nation15 October, 10:39 AM
“That’s it. The block [on oil refinery strikes] is out,” Zelenskyy said.
Ukraine refrained from striking Russian energy infrastructure for three days under an “energy ceasefire” announced by Donald Trump, but Russia kept attacking Ukrainian energy facilities anyway, he noted.
Zelenskyy also dismissed reports that “technical problems” caused the Starlink satellite communication outages on the front line, which reportedly hindered military operations and strikes against Russian targets. Instead, he blamed the service disruptions on a lack of “political will.”
Pausing strikes on Russian oil refineries
Trump announced on October 11 that an energy ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia was taking effect “immediately,” claiming both sides had agreed to it. Shortly afterward, the Financial Times reported, citing a senior Ukrainian official close to Zelenskyy, that Kyiv had no information about the ceasefire announced by the U.S. president. Axios reported on October 12 that the ceasefire entails each side stopping attacks on oil refineries in both countries.
Several media outlets later reported that the Trump administration warned Ukraine and European allies it could suspend intelligence sharing and European purchases of U.S. weapons for Kyiv unless Ukraine stops deep strikes on Russian energy sites.
The U.S. failed to warn Ukraine of Russian ballistic missile attacks overnight on October 12 and 13. The Ukrainian Air Force reported that a red-level air raid alert could not be issued in time because the missiles were only detected while already in flight. Zelenskyy confirmed on October 14 that the U.S. had threatened to halt intelligence sharing with Ukraine.
SpaceX restricted Starlink terminal operations for the Ukrainian military on October 14, disrupting several critical front-line missions. Senior officials in Kyiv told the Financial Times that the company imposed the restrictions without warning in the middle of the night.