Zelenskyy Resumes Russian Refinery Drone Strikes
October 15th, 2026Via: ZeroHedge:
A defiant President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the Financial Times on Thursday morning that Ukrainian forces will resume attacks on Russian refineries. The move certainly seems more political than anything else. Such attacks have been described as one of the drivers behind the global refining crisis, which has collided with Strait of Hormuz disruptions.
“The block [on attacking refineries] is out. We’re done,” Zelenskyy told the FT. He said Kiev had suspended energy strikes for three days at the Trump administration’s request.
Even before that, the Trump administration had requested many times that Kiev stop bombing Russian refineries, but Ukraine remained mostly defiant and ramped up those attacks leading up to the US midterm elections. One can only wonder whether the escalation was politically motivated, worsening the diesel crisis and translating into consumer pain at US pumps.
Zelenskyy’s new narrative is that the resumption of drone attacks on Russian refineries is a response to what he described as a “dangerous” cutoff of US intelligence sharing and the degradation of Starlink service.
Trump has denied cutting off intelligence sharing. Elon Musk said the US government controls Starshield’s speed and usage limits, the military satellite network built on Starlink technology. Zelenskyy’s office said Thursday that it had lifted the speed restrictions.
