5 minWorld
Zelenskyy Rebukes Trump After Ukraine Strikes Russian Oil Terminal
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy publicly rebuked President Donald Trump after Ukraine struck an oil terminal in St. Petersburg, defying a U.S.-brokered energy ceasefire that Kyiv says Russia has repeatedly violated.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a sharp public rebuke to President Donald Trump after Ukrainian forces struck a Russian oil terminal in St. Petersburg, directly defying the U.S. president's demand that both sides halt attacks on energy infrastructure. Russian state media described the assault as one of the largest drone attacks of the year, and it came just one week after Trump announced that a ceasefire had been brokered to end strikes on energy facilities.
Zelenskyy defended the operation in a statement that accused Moscow of systematically violating the arrangement. He said Russia had launched nearly 2,700 attack drones, 1,700 aerial bombs and 66 missiles at Ukraine over the past week, most of them ballistic, with energy facilities as the primary target. «The main targets of these strikes are energy facilities — the Russians are trying to cause a blackout,» Zelenskyy said. «And America should see that Russia is not taking any reciprocal steps in response to sanctions relief or agreements.»
The Ukrainian leader's message was aimed as much at Washington as at Moscow. He argued that Russia interprets every signal of economic relief as proof that its war effort is paying off. «On the contrary, they take every signal of an opportunity to make money as proof that their bet on war is paying off and they can keep fighting,» he said. Zelenskyy added that it is Russia's position, not Ukraine's defense, that prolongs the war, and that Moscow must face pressure for peace to have any chance.
The rupture follows a series of events that have strained relations between Kyiv and the White House. Three days after Trump's ceasefire announcement, Ukraine's access to Starlink, the satellite internet service operated by Elon Musk's SpaceX, was abruptly restricted. Subsequent reporting suggested the order to limit the service came directly from the White House. Trump has also increasingly pressed Zelenskyy to cede territory to Russia as part of a push to end the war, a demand Zelenskyy has refused, prompting the U.S. president to threaten cutting Ukraine off from American intelligence.
Since the energy ceasefire was announced, Russia has deliberately attacked Ukraine's energy and oil and gas sectors 76 times, according to Zelenskyy. Overnight strikes hit substations in the Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskyi and Odesa regions, leaving tens of thousands of families without power as energy workers and repair crews labored around the clock to restore supply. Residential buildings were also struck, injuring 12 people, including two children, and killing two. A morning strike hit an agricultural enterprise in the Volyn region, where emergency services were working at the site.
The confrontation unfolds against a broader debate in Washington over how to bring Moscow to the negotiating table. The Trump administration has temporarily eased restrictions on Russian diesel in hopes that economic incentives can move the Kremlin toward a peace deal, arguing the move could add supply to a strained global market and lower prices for American consumers. The decision drew opposition from six Republican senators and five House Republicans, who signed letters urging the president to reverse course. The resistance comes as Washington approaches an Oct. 18, 2026, deadline to begin implementing a sweeping new sanctions law that Congress approved with overwhelming majorities.
Trump has defended the diesel arrangement as a way to relieve a global market burdened by high prices, telling reporters that the fuel would be released to the world market rather than necessarily to the United States. Energy analysts have questioned whether the volumes involved would meaningfully affect prices, and Russia has offered few public signs of concessions in return. Zelenskyy's latest statement makes clear that Kyiv intends to keep pressing its case that pressure, not accommodation, is the path to ending the war.
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