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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told the Financial Times that Ukraine plans to restart attacks on Russian oil refineries, saying restrictions on such strikes had been lifted. His remarks came despite an energy truce announced by US President Donald Trump.
Zelenskiy said Ukraine halted strikes on energy facilities for three days to honour the US-brokered ceasefire, but accused Moscow of continuing to hit Ukrainian energy infrastructure. He also claimed the United States withdrew intelligence support and slowed the Starlink satellite internet service, which he said disrupted front-line operations. He cited a message from US counterparts to Ukrainian military officials warning that intelligence would be blocked if energy attacks did not stop, calling the issue "a matter of will" rather than a technical fault.
Zelenskiy said halting strikes on Russian energy sites would only be possible if Washington supplied more Patriot air defence missiles, and alleged that requests for additional systems were met with weaker Starlink service. Trump announced on October 9 a deal with Russia for diesel supplies and a temporary sanctions pause, and declared an energy infrastructure truce on October 11. He has also said Ukraine should get "a new president" instead of Zelenskiy.
Key Takeaways
- Zelenskiy said the ban on strikes against Russian refineries has been lifted and the matter is settled.
- He accused the US of cutting intelligence support and slowing Starlink after a three-day Ukrainian halt on energy site attacks.
- Ukraine would only stop such strikes if given more Patriot air defence systems, Zelenskiy said.
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