Ukraine war live: Zelensky says Kyiv will resume strikes on Russian oil refineries

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Volodymyr Zelensky has said Ukraine will resume long-range strikes on Russian oil refineries after attempts by US president Donald Trump to secure an energy “ceasefire” failed.

The Ukrainian president hit out at Trump in a new interview in the FT, expressing anger over the US’s “dangerous” withdrawal of Starlink access for Ukraine’s military and criticising Trump’s “love” for autocrats like Vladimir Putin.

Earlier, Zelensky had said he feels “betrayed” by Donald Trump after the US president eased sanctions on Russian diesel.

In an interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored on Wednesday night, the Ukrainian president responded to Trump’s deal with Moscow for diesel to curb domestic fuel prices, saying: “It’s painful when President Trump chooses one side, not our side.”

Asked if he felt betrayed by the events in recent days, including Trump’s claims an energy ceasefire had been agreed, Zelensky said: “Really, yes, between us.”

Later, Elon Musk, the boss of SpaceX, said that all speeds of the system were controlled by the US government and military.

No warning ahead of missiles

Rescue workers in Kyiv were stretchering the injured from the ⁠wreckage of a blasted-out residential building overnight, while firefighters battled a huge blaze in the darkness. Officials said 2 people were killed and 21 wounded at the site.

Some 600,000 people were left without power as Russian missiles struck power stations during hours of attacks that primarily targeted ‌Kyiv and Kharkiv, Ukraine's two biggest cities.

Russia's Defence Ministry confirmed ​it had struck four power plants in and around Kyiv and two in Kharkiv, among other targets. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said ‌30 energy facilities were damaged.

Zelensky cast the latest Russian attacks as a deliberate snub to Donald ​Trump's declaration of a ceasefire on energy targets.

"Russia does not consider the American President's statements strong," Zelensky wrote on X.

"The strike was entirely deliberate and demonstrative in its scale – Russia has never before shown such ostentatious disrespect toward the United States."

Zelensky says Ukraine will resume strikes on Russian refineries

Ukraine will resume ⁠strikes on Russian refineries, Ukrainian ⁠president ​Volodymyr ⁠Zelensky ⁠told the ​Financial Times ⁠in ‌an interview published ‌on Thursday.

“The ‌block [on ⁠attacking refineries] is out. We’re done,” Zelensky said.

The Ukrainian president also hit out at Trump in the interview, expressing anger over the US’s “dangerous” withdrawal of Starlink access for Ukraine’s military and criticising Trump’s “love” for autocrats like Vladimir Putin.

It comes days after the Trump administration threatened to suspend a mechanism used to buy US weapons for Ukraine unless Kyiv stops striking Russian energy infrastructure.

On 11 October, the US president made a surprise announcement that Moscow and Kyiv had agreed to stop attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure.

“Effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine. Both parties have agreed. Do not break it!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Ukraine says it has observed the ceasefire despite the announcement taking Kyiv by surprise, but Russia has repeatedly violated it throughout the week.

No warning before Starlink cuts

Ukrainian military officials said Elon Musk's SpaceX had without warning started to interrupt functioning of its military-grade terminals when they were moving at high speed.

Kyiv installs SpaceX receptors in many of its drones as part of their onboard guidance systems. The terminals operate across Ukraine, including in territory held by Russian forces.

"Our defence forces did not receive a warning this limitation, and this led to the disruption of several missions," presidential adviser Serhiy Beskrestnov wrote on Telegram, saying the restriction affected Starshield, SpaceX's military and intelligence service.

The speed cutoff hampers Ukraine's ability to conduct strikes on Russian targets inside Ukraine, and also to defend itself from Russian drones using its own interceptor drones, according to a Defence Ministry source and another military source.

Beskrestnov said SpaceX had imposed a speed limit of 160kmph. The Defence Ministry source told Reuters military units had reported guidance systems losing ‌their connections at speeds of less than half that.

The Defence Ministry source said Ukraine was in with the company, the US government and Nato to seek clarification over the sudden limitations.

The ​suggestion that Musk's company had limited Ukrainian military capabilities drew a sharp response from Poland, which pays for Ukrainian Starlink subscriptions on Kyiv's behalf.

"Hey, @elonmusk, big man, are you playing politics ‌with your products again?" Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski asked Musk on X. "As your European customers, we ⁠are watching you."There was no immediate response from Musk, who in the past has called Sikorski a "small man".

Russia strikes Ukraine's Izmail port and cargo vessels

Russia has struck Izmail ⁠port in Ukraine's Black ⁠Sea ​Odesa ⁠region and ⁠has ​also hit ⁠two ‌cargo vessels en route ‌to Odesa, ‌the Russian ⁠defence ministry said on Telegram, claiming they were being used ‌for ​military ‌purposes.

Recap: Ukraine says Starlink restrictions are hampering its attack and defence operations

Ukraine said Elon Musk’s SpaceX had restricted Starlink services on Wednesday, hampering the country's attack and air-defence drone missions as worsening ties with Washington fuel concerns over US battlefield support.

Russia launched more missiles and drones at Ukrainian cities, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands in attacks that president Volodymyr Zelensky called “ostentatious disrespect” for US president Donald Trump’s so-called energy ceasefire.

Trump turned on Zelensky after lifting sanctions on Russian diesel. He told Kyiv to stop attacking Russian refineries and urged Ukrainians to replace Zelensky.

"It's painful when President Trump chooses one side, not our side," Zelensky told "Piers Morgan Uncensored".

He said he was OK with Trump being in the middle of Ukraine and Russia, but "if you are in the middle, you have to stay in the middle."

Asked the restriction on the military version of SpaceX's Starlink services in Ukraine, Zelensky said: "It's a big mistake ... This decision will bring a lot of human losses." He did not say who was responsible.

Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, which operates Starlink, said the US government controlled the system's speeds.

"Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS," Musk wrote on ⁠the social media platform X, using the acronym for president of the United States. Musk is a close political ally ​of ⁠Trump's.

In the interview, Zelensky also dismissed Trump's that Ukraine needed a new leader. "It is a decision of our people," Zelensky said. "No Trump, no Musk, not anyone in the world can choose the president or elect in other countries."

Chancellor calls for tighter Russian shipping sanctions

Chancellor John Healey ​called on other nations to tighten sanctions on Russia-linked shipping, as he prepared to meet his foreign counterparts at the International Monetary Fund's annual meetings in Bangkok ⁠on Thursday.

"My message to finance ministers here today ... on Ukraine, is to stay the path on tough economic sanctions on Russia, especially a tighter ban on shipping services ... that help (Russian president ⁠Vladimir) Putin's sanctions-busting shadow fleet to ​operate," ⁠he said.

Britain has imposed a series of sanctions on shipping and related services that it believes Russia ⁠uses to fund and equip its war on Ukraine.

However, a ​US ⁠official on Wednesday said ‌the Trump administration is considering easing sanctions on so-called shadow fleet vessels that have transported oil and petroleum products from ‌countries including Russia, Iran and Venezuela, in ‌an effort to reduce record-high global freight rates.

US 'floats unfreezing some Russian assets' to restart Ukraine peace talks

The US has proposed that European countries unfreeze some Russian sovereign assets immobilised after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and transfer them to a vehicle overseen by Washington in an attempt to revive peace talks, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing people briefed on the matter.

European delegates ⁠rebuffed the plan, which was pitched by US special envoy Steve Witkoff and US president ‌Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared ​Kushner, the report ‌said.

US-Russia diesel deal can pave way for further economic cooperation, says Kremlin envoy

The US-Russia diesel deal can pave the way for further economic cooperation between the two countries, Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev said on Wednesday.

He added that Moscow would overcome any sanctions-related difficulties to ensure the diesel supplies.

The example of diesel cooperation with the US "will open other opportunities as well," he told reporters.

Watch: Zelensky tells Elon Musk 'people will die' over Starlink restrictions

Putin set to cybersecurity challenges with top officials - Kremlin

Russian President Vladimir Putin will cybersecurity with top officials on Wednesday, the Kremlin said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described it as an increasingly pressing issue.

He added that a number of countries were seeking to turn cyber technologies into weapons and Russia needed to be ready to face such challenges.

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