Zelensky says Ukraine will resume strikes on Russian refineries as frustration with Trump mounts

By Sana Noor Haq, Jim Sciutto, Kathleen Magramo, CNN

(CNN) — Ukraine will resume strikes on Russia’s oil refineries President Volodymyr Zelensky has said, also criticizing what he called a “dangerous” withdrawal of US intelligence sharing and restrictions to the Starlink satellite internet service.

The Ukrainian leader said he had halted attacks on Russian oil infrastructure for three days after the US announced a surprise “energy ceasefire” initiative. But given that Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy facilities continued, Zelensky told the Financial Times: “We’re done.”

On Thursday, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said Ukraine had attempted a large-scale attack on a Russian oil refinery in Ryazan overnight. Ukraine has not yet commented.

Zelensky’s comments lay bare his growing frustration with President Donald Trump, who last week announced a controversial deal to buy Russian diesel. Trump has heaped pressure on Ukraine to stop striking Moscow’s refineries as he works to bring down energy costs ahead of the midterm elections.

Zelensky has condemned Trump’s willingness to strike business deals with Moscow as well as the US president’s apparent admiration for Russia’s Vladimir Putin. He also told the FT that Ukrainian military officials were told by their US counterparts that “if you will not stop [the energy strikes], we will block intelligence.”

Then on Wednesday, Ukraine said Starlink had restricted some military internet services, disrupting key operations, deepening alarm in both Kyiv and among European allies.

Last week, Trump wrote on social media that Russia’s President Vladimir Putin agreed to supply markets with his country’s diesel fuel as the US president works to bring down energy costs. That move drew bipartisan criticism and sparked anger among European allies.

On Monday, Russian forces launched fresh attacks on Ukraine just hours after the US president stated an “energy ceasefire” had come into effect – a measure that neither Moscow nor Kyiv had publicly confirmed.

Both Russian and Ukrainian troops intensified aerial attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure in the weeks leading up to that as movements on the battlefield remain relatively stagnant.

The Trump administration had warned Ukraine and allies in Europe that the US could suspend intelligence sharing and European purchases of US weapons for Kyiv if it did not halt deep strikes on Russian energy facilities.

Information sharing is invaluable to Ukrainian defense efforts against Russian ballistic missile attacks by giving the locations of missile launchers along with data on where the strikes are being directed, and when.

In the days that followed, Trump administration officials, including the president, insisted such intelligence sharing continued. But what explained the lack of missile warnings?

When asked by Kyiv for an explanation, US officials blamed the weather. But Ukrainian officials suspected it was deliberate. “America says it was a failure,” a European official told CNN. “But it can’t be the truth.”

“This will give Russians a real leverage on a frontline at the time when we effectively stopped their advances, and de-occupy the territories,” a Ukrainian official told CNN.

Defensive capabilities ‘artificially restricted’

That information deficit has been compounded by Elon Musk’s Starlink curbing some internet services in Ukraine, according to local officials. Ukrainian authorities said they were caught off-guard by restrictions on the military-grade version of Elon Musk’s Starlink, called Starshield.

A Ukrainian Defense Ministry Source told CNN on Thursday that “as of now, Starshield’s operations have resumed and are continuing.” The source added that the ministry is talking with all parties involved “to determine all the causes and circumstances of yesterday’s restrictions.”

But Zelensky has indicated that some restrictions are still in place. On Thursday morning, the Ukrainian president said Russia had launched more than 850 attack drones since midnight “at a time when the speed of our defensive capabilities is being artificially restricted.”

Zelensky said earlier that Ukrainian forces use the satellite system to defend against Moscow’s jet-powered Shahed drones, and that Russia was trying to capitalize on the disruptions.

Musk on Wednesday said Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government and that any limits on its speed or usage are up to the US military and president. He added that Starlink is a commercial service owned and controlled by SpaceX and is limited to civilian or defensive activities.

Musk said Starlink “cannot be used for offensive military action, as doing so would be inappropriate for a commercial company.”

CNN has reached out to the White House and the Pentagon for comment.

Zelensky has spent the past week trying to shore up support among European leaders. On Wednesday, he met Britain’s Prime Minister Andy Burnham and King Charles in London.

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CNN’s Svitlana Vlasova and Lauren Kent contributed to this report.