Russia warns foreigners as it vows more strikes on Ukraine after Zelensky targets oil refineries
Moscow says it will step up what it calls retaliatory strikes on Kyiv and other regions after President Volodymyr Zelensky pledged more attacks on Russian oil refineries, and it publicly urges foreign citizens and diplomats not to travel to Ukraine.
Russia is linking a new wave of large strikes in Ukraine to Kyiv’s campaign against Russian oil infrastructure, while warning foreigners to stay away from the country.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said on 4 October it had taken note of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s statement that Ukraine would intensify strikes on Russian oil refineries. In response, it said Russian forces would escalate attacks on “military and defense-industrial targets, as well as related infrastructure” in Kyiv and other regions. Russian officials also said the Ukrainian population should hold Zelensky personally and politically responsible for the consequences.
In a separate statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry said the country would continue massive "retaliatory strikes" and explicitly warned foreign citizens and diplomats against traveling to Ukraine.
The political messaging comes amid visible damage in several Ukrainian cities. Zelensky said Russian drones again struck Kyiv’s Pivnichnyi (Northern) Bridge on the morning of 4 October. Footage from recent days shows a fireball hitting the roadway near cars and buses, leaving a large crater and forcing the closure of one traffic lane. Russia presents such crossings as military targets; the video shows ordinary city vehicles crossing at the time of impact.
Zelensky also reported that Russian drones hit a warehouse storing medical supplies in Sumy, where one person was killed, and a communications facility in Dnipro, where six people were wounded. In Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said a strike damaged a major heating main, temporarily cutting hot water in the Desnianskyi district. The Kyiv city military administration reported that drone debris fell on parked cars in the Darnytskyi district and, at another location, on the grounds of an educational institution.
Zelensky has framed Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries as a response to what he calls Moscow’s “winter strategy” of hitting Ukraine’s energy grid. Ukrainian attacks on refinery and fuel infrastructure inside Russia have increased this year, aimed at both military logistics and a key Russian revenue stream. Moscow is now signaling that pressure on its energy system will draw heavier attacks on Ukraine’s defense industry and the infrastructure that keeps its cities running.
The Russian statements coincided with a high-level European visit. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz traveled to Kyiv, where new Ukraine-German agreements were announced, including €1 billion in military aid and €350 million to restore energy infrastructure. His visit took place as Russian drones and missiles continued to strike Ukrainian targets.
What happens next will be visible in the scale and spread of Russian strikes labeled as retaliatory, the intensity of Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil facilities, and any decisions by foreign governments to adjust embassy staffing, travel advice or diplomatic presence in Ukraine in light of Moscow’s warning.
Sources
- OSINT