Add StudioX as a preferred source on GoogleUkraine has resumed attacks on Russian oil refineries despite pressure from US President Donald Trump, according to The Guardian World. The reported strikes come days before the US midterm elections, as a six-day local ceasefire in the occupied town of Oleshky is due to expire late on Sunday.
Refinery strikes restart
Russian state media said Ukrainian long-range drones set fire to the Kstovo refinery in Nizhny Novgorod oblast overnight. That followed a major strike on another large refinery in Samara oblast, which is owned by the state energy company Rosneft.
The Wall Street Journal had reported that Ukraine gave in to White House pressure and stopped bombing Russian energy infrastructure. Ukrainian officials told the Kyiv Independent they never agreed to a demand from Jared Kushner, the US president’s son-in-law, for a 30-day pause in refinery strikes.
Kremlin officials said the raids restarted on Friday. They complained that Kyiv was “simply ignoring” US wishes.
Trump has blamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for rising global fuel prices. Last month he lifted US sanctions on Russian diesel.
Zelenskyy stays quiet on refineries
Zelenskyy has not acknowledged the latest refinery attacks, apparently to avoid angry reprisals from Washington. He said instead that Ukrainian forces hit a missile-making defence enterprise in Russia’s Rostov region and destroyed a Pantsir missile system. He described this as part of Ukraine’s continuing “long-range sanctions”.
He said Ukraine has to retaliate because Moscow keeps using drones and ballistic missiles against vulnerable energy facilities in cities. Russia hit four Ukrainian regions overnight, cutting electricity to hundreds of thousands of households. Kyiv had power cuts of eight to 10 hours on Sunday after a critical thermal power plant was damaged.
On Telegram, Zelenskyy said the intensity of the strikes is very high. He said Russia is trying to exploit Ukraine’s shortage of ballistic missile interceptors.
He also said Russia suffered record losses in October, with 54,400 military personnel killed and wounded. He called it the highest monthly figure since the full-scale war began. He said Ukraine recaptured 96.2 sq km (37 sq miles) of its territory last month, which is 10.4 sq km more than Moscow seized.
Oleshky truce ends as talks loom
The local ceasefire in Oleshky was brokered by US first lady Melania Trump. Over the weekend, hundreds of residents were reunited with loved ones in northern Ukraine, and both sides called the evacuation a success.
Ukrainian observers say Russian forces used the truce to reinforce positions and rotate hungry, exhausted troops. Oleshky sits on the left bank of the Dnipro River, opposite the larger city of Kherson, which Ukraine recaptured in autumn 2022. The observers believe a renewed Russian offensive is inevitable.
The pope said in his Sunday prayer that he hopes the cooperation behind the ceasefire, the most significant since 2022, will strengthen both sides’ willingness to talk.
Trilateral talks involving Russia, Ukraine and the US are likely later this month. Kremlin officials said Vladimir Putin is willing to speak to Zelenskyy directly by phone. They added that European leaders backing Ukraine should not take part in such a call.
A wider breakthrough looks unlikely, however, because Putin’s demands have not changed. He insists Ukraine give up all of Donetsk oblast, which Russia has been unable to seize since 2014. He also wants further territory in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia provinces that the Kremlin does not control but says it has “annexed”.
Source: The Guardian World
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