KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — 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 kilometers (180 miles) southeast of Moscow, Russia’s Defense 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.
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.
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.
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. behavior “was really strange and what was not like between partners but that they switch off Starlink, so some actually crazy steps between us.”
In the same interview, Zelenskyy said that “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 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.
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 defenses stopped 536 Russian drones during a large-scale overnight attack, the Ukrainian Air Force said, but impacts were recorded at 31 locations.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said that air defenses downed 166 Ukrainian drones overnight. It said that its forces hit two vessels carrying military cargo.
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