N環球 
Ukraine drone strike sets Ryazan refinery ablaze as Zelenskyy walks away from Trump's energy truce
A Ukrainian drone attack on October 15 started a fire at Russia's Ryazan refinery. Zelenskyy told the Financial Times Ukraine is "done" pausing strikes on Russian refineries, accusing Moscow of bombing Ukrainian energy sites during the truce; the Kyiv-Washington rift deepens.
Why it matters
A Ukrainian drone strike on October 15 (Thursday) started a fire at an oil refinery in Russia's Ryazan region, effectively ending the "energy ceasefire" US President Donald Trump announced on October 11. In an interview with the Financial Times published the same day, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine is "done" pausing attacks on Russian refineries, accusing Russia of continuing to bomb Ukrainian energy infrastructure during the supposed truce. It is the most serious public rift between Kyiv and Washington since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.
The target was the Rosneft-owned Ryazan refinery, about 300 km southeast of Moscow, accounting for nearly 5% of Russia's total refining throughput and supplying fuel to the capital. Governor Pavel Malkov confirmed the fire on Telegram; Russia's Defence Ministry said falling drone debris sparked the blaze. A senior Ukrainian official anonymously confirmed to the Associated Press that Ukrainian forces had hit the plant. Authorities cancelled classes at 14 schools and 25 kindergartens in Ryazan, and Malkov also reported damage to a warehouse and vehicles at another business.
Full report
Zelenskyy said Ukraine had suspended refinery attacks for three days at Washington's request, while Russia rained missiles and drones on Ukrainian power stations and other energy targets, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands. Trump's surprise announcement on October 11 that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to halt attacks on energy sites was never formally confirmed by either side.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov disputed Kyiv's account, saying Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy facilities had "never stopped." President Vladimir Putin played down the effect, saying the strikes caused "nothing particularly significant." Notably, Zelenskyy also voiced anger over a cut in US satellite intelligence to Kyiv, seeing Washington as pressuring Ukraine while courting Moscow.
Analysts say Zelenskyy risks deepening the breach with Trump by openly defying him, but Kyiv argues a one-sided pause only lets Ukraine get hit. The next round of the energy war — and the fate of US intelligence support — will be the key variables in the coming weeks.
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