Zelenskyy ends 2-day pause on Russian refinery strikes

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine would restart attacks on Russian refineries after suspending them for two days, in a Financial Times interview published Oct. 15 and reported by Benzinga.

Ukraine’s decision brings an energy-security risk back into focus while U.S. diesel averaged $6.3173 a gallon as of Wednesday, up from $3.6554 a year earlier, AAA data cited by Benzinga showed.

Zelenskyy described the halt as over. “The block [on attacking refineries] is out. We’re done,” he told the Financial Times, according to Benzinga.

He said Ukraine would accept another pause in energy strikes only if it received more U.S.-made Patriot interceptors, which are used to shoot down ballistic missiles. Zelenskyy called that the “minimum” requirement. Raytheon, a subsidiary of RTX Corp., manufactures the Patriot system.

Zelenskyy also said Ukraine had lost U.S. early-warning alerts for incoming missiles. He said Ukrainian military officials were told by U.S.

counterparts that Washington could stop intelligence sharing unless Kyiv ceased attacks on Russian energy sites.

The interview also widened a dispute over battlefield communications. Zelenskyy said Starlink slowed across Ukraine, hurting frontline operations; Kyiv was told it was a glitch. “It was not a technical problem, it was the will,” he said.

Benzinga reported that Space Exploration Technologies Corp. capped its military-grade Starlink service in Ukraine at 100 mph early Wednesday. Presidential adviser Serhiy Beskrestnov wrote on Telegram that the cap disrupted missions without warning and said it “cannot be a coincidence.”

His statement was an attribution, not independent confirmation of motive.

According to Benzinga, President Donald Trump announced the U.S.-backed energy ceasefire and a diesel supply deal with Russia on Friday. On Saturday, he called for Ukraine to replace Zelenskyy. The war is in its fifth year, with several failed truce attempts.

AAA data cited by Benzinga put the U.S. diesel record at $6.5276 a gallon, set Sept. 22.

The article did not include responses from Washington, Moscow or SpaceX to Zelenskyy’s assertions, and it did not report whether Ukraine had carried out fresh refinery strikes after the pause ended.

Source: news article, Benzinga, Oct. 15, 2026