Zelenskyy: Ukraine will stop strikes on Russian refineries if Russia halts attacks on energy infrastructure

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that Kyiv is prepared to stop strikes on Russian oil refineries if Moscow ends its attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.

Those remarks came after former U.S. President Donald Trump urged Ukraine to unilaterally halt such operations. On Saturday, Trump blamed Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries for rising diesel prices in the United States and told Zelenskyy he "had better damn well stop". He also said Ukraine should change its leader, arguing Zelenskyy had missed several chances to reach a deal with Moscow.

Ukrainian response and political context

Andrii Sybiha, Ukraine's foreign minister, pushed back against Trump's criticism late on Saturday on the social network X, defending Zelenskyy as the wartime leader of the country.

Sybiha wrote: "He has the support of the Ukrainian people, and the people have the right to decide. Statements from abroad only confirm that he is doing his job well."

The exchange highlights mounting international pressure over military strikes that Moscow says target its energy facilities and that Western leaders say are driving energy prices higher. Kyiv frames its actions as part of a broader effort to blunt Russia's war aims and to respond to attacks on Ukraine's civilian infrastructure.

Zelenskyy's conditional offer — stopping attacks on Russian refineries in exchange for Moscow halting strikes on Ukraine's energy network — sets a clear linkage between battlefield tactics and the protection of critical infrastructure, a point likely to shape diplomatic conversations in the coming days.

Photo: press material from the event