Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said his country is “done” with a short-lived energy ceasefire in the conflict with Russia.
Kyiv had ceased attacks on Russian oil refineries since Sunday, when U.S. President Donald Trump announced an energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, which only the latter had observed.
Main battle tank T-14 object 148 on heavy unified tracked platform Armata. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
T-14 Armata. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
The end of the one-way truce comes amid growing animosity between Washington and Kyiv after recent developments that Ukraine has seen as beneficial towards Russia.
Energy Ceasefire
Trump has increasingly voiced frustration with Russia and Ukraine over continued attacks on oil refineries in the face of a worldwide shortage of diesel which, in part, is fueled by the Iran war and Tehran’s ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
President Zelensky agreed to a ceasefire on energy facilities on the condition that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, agreed to the same, but the two warring nations have continued to exchange strikes.
With the U.S. President under pressure at home to reduce living costs ahead of next month’s midterm elections, Trump has pushed for a ceasefire on energy infrastructure between Russia and Ukraine – something that was reportedly agreed over the weekend.
“Effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday, 11th October. “Both parties have agreed. Do not break it!” he added.
Speaking at the Warsaw Security Forum over the weekend, Zelensky said his country “immediately supported the idea of an energy ceasefire,” but questioned whether Russia would comply.
“Our offer is honest and clear; we are ready to respect an energy ceasefire if Russia is ready to do the same,” Zelensky added. “We agree if they agree.
And we have already shown that we mean it.”
However, the Kremlin remained silent on the issue, offering no comment either way following Trump’s announcement before striking six separate energy facilities on Monday.
While Kyiv had refrained from retaliating at Washington’s request, the restriction was lifted just three days after the energy ceasefire was announced.
“The block is out. We’re done,” Zelensky said on the truce in an interview with the Financial Times.
Ryazan Raided by Ukraine’s One-way Kamikaze Drones
Overnight into the morning of Thursday, 15th October, Ukrainian drones struck the Ryazan oil refinery – the first Ukrainian attack in breach of Trump’s ceasefire.
Regional Governor Pavel Malkov confirmed a fire at the Ryazan oil refinery on Thursday morning.
“Our region was subjected to a massive drone attack this morning,” he wrote in a Telegram post. “A fire broke out at an oil refinery. A warehouse and vehicles at another Ryazan enterprise were damaged.”
Malkov said there were no casualties as a result of the drone strikes.
The Ryazan refinery is Russia’s third-largest in processing capacity, producing 17.1 million metric tons of crude oil every year.
It’s a key fuel supplier to Moscow, handling more than 2 million metric tons of gasoline and over 3 million metric tons of diesel annually.
Ryazan was last attacked on Sunday, 6th September, and was forced to suspend operations due to major damage to the refinery’s CDU-6 and CDU-4 units.
Starlink Suspension
Tensions have been rising between the leaders of the U.S. and Ukraine over the past week after Trump announced a surprise deal to release Russian diesel onto the U.S. and global markets.
The U.S. President has also publicly called for Zelensky to resign – a view shared by SpaceX founder and former Trump administration official Elon Musk.
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, SpaceX’s Starlink services were restricted to speeds of below 100mph, rendering Ukrainian drones effectively redundant against a Russian ballistic missile attack.
At least nine people were killed in the Russian strikes – the second in succession to have taken place without warning from Western allies.
Connectivity was restored by Wednesday evening.
Accusations at the Administration
Questions remain, however, about who decided to limit the technology’s speed.
SpaceX founder Musk said the technology affected was Starshield, which is designed specifically for government and military communications, rather than the commercial Starlink, adding that the Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the U.S. government, with decisions to limit speed or usage made “by the U.S. military and ultimately POTUS (President of the United States).”
In his interview with the Financial Times, President Zelensky said Ukrainian officials were told U.S. intelligence would cease if Kyiv did not halt strikes on Russian energy facilities, although the Starshield incident was presented as a technical glitch.
The Ukrainian leader added that the withdrawal of U.S. intelligence and the satellite network would be “dangerous” for his country, while fighting without the U.S. would be “very difficult.”
About the Author: Shay Bottomley
Shay Bottomley is a British journalist. He has written for the Western Standard, Business Insider, Maidenhead Advertiser, Slough Express, Windsor Express, Berkshire Live and Southend Echo.
