The drone strike set the refinery ablaze on Thursday, a target the Russian Defense Ministry said the truce had not covered. Russian Governor Pavel Malkov posted a photo from Astra’s feed, confirming the fire that erupted in Ryazan’s industrial zone.
Earlier that week, Zelensky told the Financial Times he was outraged that Russia kept bombarding energy sites despite Trump’s Sunday call for a halt, and that Ukraine had been cut off from typical Western intel and limited in its use of US‑made Starlink terminals.
During a late‑Wednesday interview with Piers Morgan, Zelensky said he felt betrayed by Trump’s deal with Putin, the ceasefire announcement and Starlink restrictions, adding that Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries would resume.
Trump, in a separate interview with Newsmax, called Zelensky a difficult partner, suggested an election, and accused Ukraine of not wanting to settle with Putin. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed any change in Ukraine’s strike policy, while Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov branded the attacks a direct challenge to Trump.
With intelligence gaps and a slowed Starlink network, Ukrainian forces face greater risk from Russian ballistic missiles, an anonymous official warned, while SpaceX and the Pentagon have yet to explain the slowdown. Kyiv’s military is likely to continue its campaign, and Washington’s response to the escalating tensions will be closely watched over the coming days.