KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian drones attacked a refinery in Russia’s Ryazan region early Thursday, hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that a brief truce spurned by Moscow was over amid deepening tensions with Washington. The drone strike started a fire at the refinery about 300 kilometres (180 miles) southeast of Moscow, Russia’s Defence Ministry and Ryazan Gov. Pavel Malkov said. Russia’s Astra online news outlet posted what it said was a photograph of the blaze. A senior Ukrainian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly, confirmed that Ukraine had hit the refinery. Zelenskyy complains about U.S. stance toward Ukraine The strike could further complicate Kyiv’s relations with U.S. President Donald Trump, which have soured again in recent days. Zelenskyy was outraged by Russia’s continuing aerial bombardment of his country’s energy infrastructure in apparent defiance of Trump’s demand on Sunday for both sides to halt those attacks. The Ukrainian government said that it was heeding the ceasefire, but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that Ukraine never stopped its strikes on refineries that have hurt Russia. It wasn’t possible to independently verify each side’s claims. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov labeled Ukraine’s strikes on oil facilities as a “direct and crude challenge to President Trump.” Zelenskyy complained that, despite going along with Trump’s demand for a truce, Ukraine in recent days was denied the usual Western intelligence on Russian ballistic missile strikes and limits were placed on its use of U.S.-made Starlink communication terminals. Both are vital for Ukrainian defences and attack operations. The Ukrainian leader said that his patience had run out. He said in an interview with the Financial Times published Thursday that Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries would resume. “We’re done,” he was quoted as saying. Trump made a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to import Russian diesel, despite international efforts to sanction Russia for its invasion and diplomatically isolate Putin. Zelenskyy slammed the agreement, saying it would allow Russia to press on with its full-scale invasion of Ukraine that began more than 4½ years ago. U.S. efforts under Trump to end the war have made no progress. Zelenskyy said in an interview late Wednesday with Piers Morgan on the British journalist’s YouTube show that he felt betrayed by Trump’s deal with Putin, the energy ceasefire announcement and the Starlink operational issues. “Really, yes, between us,” Zelenskyy told Morgan when asked if he felt betrayed by the American president. “Our country has to survive, and we count on our real partners, strategic partners, the United States and President Trump.” He said that the U.S. behaviour “was really strange and what was not like between partners but that they switch off Starlink, so some actually crazy steps between us.” Zelenskyy says U.S. position isn’t ‘on the right side of history’ In the same interview, Zelenskyy said “we are losing a strong partner” in the United States. He said that “it’s painful when President Trump chooses one side, not our side. But we are OK that he’s in the middle.” Zelenskyy said someone is pushing Trump into a stance that is “not the right side of history.” The Starlink speed limits choked Ukrainian efforts to defend itself and hit back against Russia, Kyiv officials said. Elon Musk noted on X that the military version of Starlink, called Starshield, is controlled by the U.S. military and Trump. The absence of Western intelligence leaves Ukraine more vulnerable to Russian ballistic missiles. Trump has said the U.S. hasn’t stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine. Ukraine looks to Europe for more help Amid fears that the Trump administration may be withdrawing support for Ukraine, Zelenskyy was due in Brussels for talks with European Union leaders at a summit Friday. He was traveling to Belgium after visiting London, where he won pledges of more help from U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham. Asked whether the EU still trusts Trump, the bloc’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, replied: “We definitely have a different approach to this war. We see that we have to pressure the aggressor to stop the war, not the victim to surrender.” “Squeezing Ukraine is not the right approach, and that is why Europe is standing beside Ukraine,” Kallas told reporters. Russian strike in Ukraine kills 3 civilians Three people were killed and six others injured after the Kirovohrad region of central Ukraine came under a Russian drone attack lasting more than 10 hours, Ukraine’s Emergency Services said Thursday. Zelenskyy said on X that between midnight and Thursday morning Russia launched more than 850 drones at Ukraine, adding that the barrage came “precisely at a time when the speed of our defensive capabilities is being artificially restricted.” Russian aerial attacks hit 15 Ukrainian regions, he said. “It is obvious that Russia deliberately chose to escalate its attacks after receiving sanctions relief and seeing attempts to pressure Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said. “It is important that everyone in America stand not with the aggressor, but with our efforts to protect lives, end this war and guarantee security.” Ukrainian air defences stopped 536 Russian drones during a large-scale overnight attack, the Ukrainian Air Force said, but impacts were recorded at 31 locations. A Ukrainian missile destroyed six warplanes at an airfield in southwestern Russia, Zelenskyy said. The aircraft were used to launch powerful glide bombs, he said. “Russia is dragging out the war, so our long-range operations will continue,” he said on social media. Russia’s Defence Ministry said that air defences downed 166 Ukrainian drones overnight. It said that its forces hit two vessels carrying military cargo. By Susie Blann, The Associated Press Samya Kullab in Kyiv, and Lorne Cook in Brussels, contributed to this story.
