Ukraine ends pause on Russian refinery strikes as Ryazan governor reports attack
Zelensky said Ukraine’s restraint was over after Russian attacks on its energy infrastructure. Ryazan’s governor reported a refinery fire, with damage still being assessed.
Ukraine ended its pause on strikes against Russian oil refineries on Thursday, October 15, as the governor of Russia’s Ryazan region reported a drone attack and fire at a refinery there. President Volodymyr Zelensky linked the decision to continued Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
Ryazan Governor Pavel Malkov said emergency services were at the refinery and material damage was being assessed, according to Reuters reporting carried by The Straits Times. The extent of damage has not been independently established in the available reporting.
Why Ukraine ended its refinery strike pause
Zelensky said Ukraine had refrained from attacking Russian refineries for three days to accommodate a US request, The Kyiv Independent reported. In an interview with the Financial Times published on October 15, he said: ‘The block (on attacking refineries) is out. We’re done.’
US President Donald Trump had announced an energy ceasefire on Sunday, October 11. The Kyiv Independent reported that the announcement was unilateral and that, according to a senior Ukrainian official, Kyiv had received no advance notice. The ceasefire’s scope remained unclear: the report said the Kremlin stated on October 14 that its extent had not been specified.
The Kyiv Independent reported that Russian forces targeted energy facilities in a large ballistic missile attack on Kyiv overnight October 13–14. Zelensky said Russia used 39 ballistic missiles and more than 120 strike drones and loitering munitions against energy and other critical infrastructure in Kyiv, the surrounding region and Kharkiv, according to the outlet.
More than 600,000 people lost power amid disruptions to Ukraine’s energy grids, Euronews reported. It quoted Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko saying energy facilities in Kyiv and the surrounding region had come under a massive ballistic missile strike.
The earlier dispute over refinery attacks
On October 14, Euronews reported that Russia accused Ukraine of attacking refineries in Saratov and Ryazan in breach of the proposed ceasefire. A Zelensky adviser called the claim false, saying other sites had been hit but the refineries had not. That dispute concerned alleged attacks before the Ryazan incident reported on October 15.
Zelensky said Ukraine could agree to halt strikes on Russian energy infrastructure if it received more US-made Patriot interceptor missiles, calling them the minimum requirement, according to The Kyiv Independent’s account of his Financial Times interview.
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Sources and context
- Ukraine resumes strikes on Russian refineries as Zelensky says ‘we’re done’The Straits Times, carrying Reuters reporting
- Zelensky lifts pause on Ukraine's strikes against Russian oil refineriesThe Kyiv Independent, reporting on an interview by the Financial Times
- Russia and Ukraine trade blame over Trump’s ‘energy ceasefire’Euronews
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.