Ukraine Pauses Strikes on Russian Refineries After Pressure From U.S.

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Ukraine Pauses Strikes on Russian Refineries After Pressure From U.S./ 

Kyiv has temporarily halted one of its most effective operations against Moscow after complaints from Trump/

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Marcus Walker/ 

Nikita Nikolaienko/ and/ Alexander Ward/ Updated Oct. 29, 2026 7:57 pm ET/ 

Thick black smoke and flames rise from an oil terminal behind a bridge in Saint Petersburg. An air attack Oct. 18 on the oil terminal in St. Petersburg, Russia. AFP/Getty Images KYIV—Ukraine’s military has paused its strikes against Russian oil refineries, people with knowledge of the operations said, after weeks of pressure from President Trump shook Kyiv’s confidence in U.S. support./

The unofficial pause, which is expected to last until after the U.S. midterm elections but potentially deeper into November, began early last week at the height of a crisis in U.S.-Ukrainian relations, the people said. Days earlier, Trump had called for the removal of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Elon Musk’s SpaceX had limited Ukraine’s use of the Starlink satellite internet service./

Ukraine’s government hasn’t announced a pause in refinery strikes. Zelensky has said Ukraine wants more protection for its own energy infrastructure—which Russia has been systematically destroying with missile and drone attacks ahead of winter—in exchange for holding off./ But Russia is continuing to escalate its missile and drone attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and its cities, inflicting a mounting civilian death toll./ 

Ukrainian units involved in long-range strikes were told in mid-October that the campaign against refineries was effectively on hold, once missions already in motion were completed, said two military officials familiar with the matter./ 

Ukraine’s Defense Minister Evgeniy Khmara told Zelensky that the military had sensed it was best to hold off on refinery strikes because of the delicate diplomatic situation, said a person familiar with the matter. Zelensky said that was fine, but stressed that the military was free to hit refineries again if it chose to, the person said./ 

“Our guys tried to be a little more careful during these days. But they do not have an order” not to hit refineries, Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv on Tuesday. Drone units are hitting different kinds of targets in Russia right now, he said./

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, Finland's President Alexander Stubb, and US envoy Steve Witkoff sit during a meeting in Oslo./ 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met Oct. 20 in Oslo with European officials, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and and U.S. envoy Jared Kushner, who attended remotely. Heiko Junge/

NTB/AFP/

Getty Images Ukraine’s reliance on the Starlink, U.S. intelligence-sharing and Patriot missile interceptors has left it vulnerable to U.S. pressure, even though Trump ended the bulk of American military and financial aid for Kyiv when he returned to the White House last year./ 

Trump has piled pressure on Zelensky in recent weeks to stop hitting Russian refineries, blaming Ukraine for high global fuel prices, which energy experts mostly attribute to the U.S.-Iran war. Republican candidates fear fuel prices could hurt them in Tuesday’s midterms, and Trump has relaxed sanctions on Russian diesel in a bid to ease pressure on U.S. farmers and other consumers./ 

U.S. envoy Jared Kushner repeated Trump’s demand to stop hitting Russian refineries at a meeting with Zelensky on Oct. 20 in Oslo, said two U.S. officials. One official described the conversation as “very tough.”/ 

Kushner, who joined the meeting remotely because of an illness, told Zelensky that he should pause the strikes because he and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff were dedicating a lot of time, energy, and jet fuel to mediating with Moscow, one of the U.S. officials said. A 30-day pause on refineries would be a way for Ukraine to show gratitude, that U.S. official said./ The day after the Oslo meeting, Trump called Musk and asked him to restore Ukraine’s satellite service. U.S. officials said the two issues—Starlink and refinery strikes—weren’t in any way linked./

Ukrainian and European officials gave a more nuanced account. Kyiv’s European allies have advised Zelensky to heed the political sensitivity of energy prices as the U.S. midterms approach, senior European officials said./ 

Some of Kyiv’s staunchest European backers were growing worried about the heated rhetoric between Trump and Zelensky and the Starlink disruption, and nudged Zelensky to pause refinery strikes until after the midterms, one of the European officials said./

On Oct. 20, Ukraine hit an oil pumping station on the Druzhba pipeline in Russia’s Tambov region—the last attack on Russian oil infrastructure until now. In the preceding days, Ukraine struck oil facilities in St. Petersburg, a refinery in the Ryazan region and a major gas plant in Surgut, Siberia./

Ukraine’s campaign against Russian refineries has been aimed at undermining oil revenues that help finance Russia’s invasion of its smaller neighbor. Kyiv fears that ending them would allow Russian President Vladimir Putin to prolong his devastating war on Ukraine./ 

In recent weeks, Zelensky has told Trump that Ukraine would need something in return if it halted the refinery strikes. His preferred option was a mutual energy ceasefire with Russia, which would stop hitting Ukrainian power plants. Two other options he raised were Patriot missiles to protect its own energy grid, or permission to use Starlink inside Russia so that drones can destroy Moscow’s missile launchers. But none of those ideas got far./

Instead, U.S. pressure on Ukraine has threatened to undermine parts of its defenses. Speed limits imposed on Oct. 14 on Ukraine’s military-grade Starlink service paralyzed drone strikes against Russian-army logistics, as well as some interceptors that protect Ukrainian cities against Russian jet-powered drones./

Full Starlink capabilities were restored on Oct. 24, three days after Trump called Musk and asked him to lift the restrictions.

U.S. officials said they didn’t make restoring Starlink contingent on Kyiv pausing its refinery strikes. Some Ukrainian officials, however, said the country was under heavy pressure to give Trump a win. Ukraine urgently needed the White House’s help to restore its satellite service. Starlink and refineries became two parts of one story, said one military official./

Ukraine’s drones are now flying normally again. But in Ukraine’s military, government and broader society, the 10-day Starlink outage and American threats to end other crucial support have further shaken trust in the U.S./ 

The Trump administration is widely seen in Ukraine as favoring Russia in its mediation strategy, while many Ukrainians are bitter that Trump has repeatedly blamed Kyiv for a war that Putin started and shows no sign of ending.

At one Ukrainian battalion fighting on the eastern front, soldiers and officers agreed to take down all American flags and other insignia during the past two weeks, said a commander in the unit./

Copyright ©2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8 Marcus Walker is South Europe bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal. Follow/ 

Nikita Nikolai/enko is a contributor to The Wall Street Journal covering the war in Ukraine. He is based in Kyiv. Follow/ Alexander Ward is a national security reporter covering the White House and State Department for The Wall Street Journal in Washington. Alex’s reporting focuses in particular on the inner workings of the National Security Council and how top players in an administration formulate and execute foreign