The ukraine russia news cycle intensified this week as the energy war between Moscow and Kyiv collided with US mediation efforts. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ended a three-day pause on strikes against Russian oil refineries on October 15, prompting US President Donald Trump to call the move “a disgrace,” while Russian drones killed three people across Ukraine on October 16 and cut power to around 370,000.
Key Takeaways
- Zelenskyy announced Ukraine is resuming attacks on Russian oil refineries, ending a three-day pause requested by Washington; Ukrainian drones struck a Rosneft refinery in Ryazan on October 15.
- Trump told Newsmax the refinery strikes are “a disgrace” that drives up world oil prices, and said Zelenskyy is “more difficult to deal with than Putin.”
- Russian drone strikes killed three people across Ukraine early on October 16, hit two shopping centres, and knocked out power to about 370,000 people in the northwest.
- The dispute exposed a rupture with Washington: Reuters reported restricted US intelligence sharing and Starlink throttling ordered from the White House; Bloomberg said service was later restored.
Trump Calls Refinery Strikes “a Disgrace”
In an interview with Newsmax aired Thursday, Trump said Ukraine’s renewed attacks on Russian diesel refineries were pushing global energy prices higher. “All he’s doing is making the world oil price higher. Well, I think that’s a disgrace,” he said, adding that he finds Zelenskyy harder to deal with than Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The criticism followed Ukraine’s first refinery strike since Trump announced an “energy ceasefire” on October 11. On October 9, Trump had proclaimed a deal with Moscow to buy several hundred thousand metric tons of Russian diesel to lower US fuel prices.
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Ukraine Russia News: Why Zelensky Resumed the Strikes
Zelenskyy told the Financial Times that Ukraine had suspended refinery attacks for three days at Washington’s request, but would no longer observe the pause. “The block is out. We’re done,” he said. Kyiv argued the pause was unjust because Russia never stopped attacking Ukrainian energy infrastructure, killing more than 100 civilians over the previous week.
The attacks resumed Thursday morning: Ukrainian drones struck a Russian refinery in Ryazan, about 200 kilometers southeast of Moscow, causing a fire at a Rosneft facility, according to regional governor Pavel Malkov. A Ukrainian official told the FT the strike was retaliation for Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
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Russian Drones Kill 3, Cut Power to 370,000
Early on Friday, Russian drones killed at least three people across Ukraine and hit two shopping centres, Reuters reported. Two people died and 12 were wounded in attacks on Kharkiv, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said. In Volyn, which borders Poland, a drone strike on a food-processing facility killed one person and wounded eight, Governor Roman Romaniuk said.
Strikes on the energy grid knocked out power to around 370,000 people in the northwest, and the blackout in Lutsk could last at least 24 hours. Zelenskyy accused Moscow of violating Trump’s announced truce, saying Russia had shown “ostentatious disrespect” toward the United States.
Sources: Reuters; Le Monde; Financial Times; Bloomberg; Al Jazeera; ANI.
