Zelensky: Ukraine to resume strikes on Russian oil refineries

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine will resume attacks on Russian oil refineries.

"The restriction on attacking oil refineries has been lifted. That's it, we're done." Zelensky said in an interview with the Financial Times.

He expressed dissatisfaction over the "dangerous" halt in the provision of intelligence by the US and the weakening of Starlink satellite internet service.

Zelensky criticized Washington's desire to strike business deals with Moscow, as well as President Donald Trump's evident sympathy for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Asked how the relationship between the two leaders could be explained, he replied that Trump has an instinctive attraction to autocrats and extremely wealthy people.

"He [Trump] openly and loudly talks about how he likes and respects such people. Because, in his opinion, people who can lead for 20, 30 or 40 years, that is, are very strong," Zelensky said.

According to him, taking into account the wishes of the US, Ukraine suspended strikes on energy facilities for three days. Moscow, however, continued massive attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure and the killing of civilians, with more than 100 people killed in the last week alone.

According to Zelensky, despite the suspension of strikes, Ukrainian forces were not receiving US early warning signals about approaching ballistic missiles. At the same time, the operation of Elon Musk's satellite communications service, Starlink, slowed across the country, which hindered operations on the front line and medium-range strikes on Russian military targets.

According to him, American colleagues told senior Ukrainian military officials: "If you do not stop [strikes on energy facilities], we will stop providing intelligence". Later, Kyiv was told this was a technical glitch.

Zelensky also rejected the view that the disruptions in the Starlink satellite system were caused by some malfunction. "It was not a technical problem, it was a desire," he said.