Ukraine will resume striking Russian oil refineries in defiance of a U.S. demand, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said in an interview with The Financial Times published on Thursday, reflecting a widespread feeling in Ukraine of betrayal by the Trump administration.
A resumption of Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries would end a three-day pause on such attacks that Mr. Zelensky had imposed to comply with an energy cease-fire that was unilaterally declared by President Trump. Ukraine agreed to halt refinery strikes out of fear that it would lose vital U.S.-provided intelligence that it needs to warn its population of incoming Russian strikes. Russia continued to attack Ukrainian power plants and substations during the pause.
Asked in the Financial Times interview how much longer Ukraine would maintain the pause, Mr. Zelensky said, “That’s it. The block is out.” He did not provide details or say when refinery strikes — previously part of a Ukrainian campaign to bring the war closer to Russians — would resume.
On Thursday, Pavel Malkov, the governor of Ryazan, a Russian region southeast of Moscow, said on social media that a fire had broken out at an oil refinery after a drone strike overnight. He did not specify who was behind the attack.
In Mr. Zelensky’s Financial Times interview, which took place during his visit to London on Wednesday to meet with Prime Minister Andy Burnham and King Charles III of Britain, he also said that U.S. military officials had threatened to withhold intelligence if Ukraine did not stop attacking Russian energy infrastructure.
“They said, ‘If you will not stop, we will block intelligence,’” Mr. Zelensky said, referring to what he described as communication between American military officials and their Ukrainian counterparts. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
He also said that Ukraine had not received advance warning about Russian ballistic missile launches this week. Those warnings typically come from U.S. intelligence.
“Block or technical problem or will, I don’t know,” he said.
U.S. officials have said that the United States has not cut back on intelligence sharing with Ukraine, and denied any threat to withhold such support.
Overnight on Wednesday, Russia launched dozens of ballistic missiles, hitting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and leaving 600,000 people in Kyiv without power. Ukraine said that its military had lost access to Starshield, a military version of Starlink that the Pentagon pays for.
In the Financial Times interview, Mr. Zelensky said Starlink service in Ukraine had been “pushed” to a slow speed.
“It was not a technical problem. It was the will,” Mr. Zelensky said, without specifying who made the decision to slow the service or saying whether he has spoken with Elon Musk, the chief executive of SpaceX.
The Starshield restrictions were seen in Ukraine as part of the Trump administration’s pressure campaign to limit the fighting ability of Ukrainian forces. Mr. Trump has pushed Kyiv to stop attacking Russia’s oil refineries so that Moscow can send more diesel to global markets, as high prices threaten the Republican Party’s prospects in the midterm elections.
Last week, Mr. Trump said that he had reached an agreement with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to import millions of tons of diesel fuel to the United States over the next few months. The Treasury Department later lifted sanctions on Russian diesel exports that had been imposed in 2022 to limit Mr. Putin’s ability to finance Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Business is interesting between the United States and Russia,” Mr. Zelensky said in the interview. “I think that they want to have energy projects. This, politically, is not simple, because everybody will want to ask how it can be when some people are surviving, fighting, dying.”
Mr. Zelensky also expressed frustration with the United States, angrily saying that he did not hear from Mr. Trump after Russian attacks killed civilians in Ukrainian cities this week.
Asked how he has managed to deal with Mr. Trump, he appeared baffled by the president’s decisions. He criticized Mr. Trump for making deals with Mr. Putin, and for openly admiring dictators like Mr. Putin who have held on to power for decades.
“Putin is an enemy for us. He’s the real evil of today,” Mr. Zelensky said. “How can Trump be friends with him? I think it’s a mistake.”
Constant Méheut contributed reporting from Kyiv, Ukraine.
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