Zelensky Ends Pause on Strikes Against Russian Refineries After Deadly Drone Barrage on Ukraine
Ukraine’s president says he has lifted a short halt on striking Russian oil infrastructure after Russia’s latest mass attack on Ukrainian energy facilities and civilians, escalating a contest over whose energy systems will bear the cost of the war.
Volodymyr Zelensky has told Ukraine’s military to resume strikes on Russian oil refineries, saying a brief pause did nothing to stop Russia’s bombardment of Ukraine’s power system or civilian areas.
He said Ukraine had suspended attacks on Russian energy targets for three days at Washington’s request, while Russia continued striking Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and killing civilians. Zelensky said Ukraine would be prepared to halt such strikes again only if Russia stopped attacking Ukraine’s energy system while continuing its own operations.
Zelensky linked his decision to lift the pause to Russia’s latest large‑scale strike on Ukraine. According to Ukraine’s Air Force, Russia launched 580 attack and decoy drones and two Kh‑59 guided missiles overnight, with impacts recorded at 31 locations and debris falling in another 11. Air defenses reported downing or suppressing most of the drones, but the volume of launches still caused significant damage.
Kirovohrad Oblast was among the hardest hit. Governor Andrii Raikovych said a Russian drone attack on the region that lasted more than 10 hours killed three people and injured six. Nearly 360 drones were reported over Kirovohrad, with strikes at 26 locations. In Kropyvnytskyi, the regional center, businesses, logistics centers, warehouses, residential buildings and surrounding areas were hit, and transport infrastructure elsewhere in the region was also damaged.
Satellite and thermal monitoring picked up the resulting fires. A cluster of thermal marks was recorded in Kirovohrad region after strikes near the traction substation TPS 154(150)/35/27.5 kV “Suhokleya,” at coordinates 48.097192611383875, 32.32665354517123. NASA satellite imagery also showed two large fire anomalies in Kropyvnytskyi after the overnight strike, at coordinates 48.5408, 32.3182 and 48.521, 32.2784.
These attacks came on top of earlier hits inside Russia’s own energy network. Close‑up footage circulated of another fuel tank explosion at the Novoshakhtinsk oil terminal in Russia’s Rostov region, and reports from Russia’s Ryazan region described a fire at an oil refinery following a massive Ukrainian drone attack.
The struggle over energy infrastructure is now moving in parallel with a bitter dispute over Ukraine’s access to satellite communications and intelligence support. Zelensky accused the U.S. side of cutting off Starlink and Starshield access for political purposes, saying the restrictions were not due to any technical issues. He said Ukraine had received messages warning that it could face problems with intelligence if it did not pause strikes on Russian refineries.
According to Ukrainian officials, SpaceX has implemented speed limits for Starlink terminals while in motion, currently applied to the "military package" of Starshield services and set at 100 km/h. They said they were not warned in advance. Such limits directly affect Ukraine’s mid‑ to long‑range drone operations, which rely on satellite links.
The White House, however, has denied ordering any Starlink restrictions in Ukraine, according to Axios. U.S. officials told Zelensky’s advisers that they had not limited Starlink, attributing disruptions to a technical malfunction. They said the U.S. government does not control SpaceX and promised to contact the company to determine the cause of the problems. Service was partly restored on Wednesday, but Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said issues persisted.
This disagreement unfolded as Elon Musk stated that the Starshield military system belongs to and is controlled by the U.S. government, and that U.S. military officials reportedly determine how it is used. The overlap between political negotiations over Ukraine’s strikes on Russian refineries and the timing of satellite and intelligence concerns has sharpened Kyiv’s sense that its war effort is being shaped by decisions made in Washington.
The contest over energy targets and connectivity is likely to influence how both sides fight in the coming weeks. Signals that could shift the picture include whether Russia moderates or intensifies its drone and missile attacks on Ukraine’s energy grid, whether Ukraine’s strikes cause further visible damage at Russian refineries and terminals, and whether Washington and SpaceX clarify or change the rules governing Starlink and Starshield services for Ukrainian forces.
Sources
- OSINT