The terms of a U.S.-announced energy truce remained unsettled Oct. 15, when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv had ended a three-day pause in strikes on Russian energy targets.
In an interview published by the Financial Times that day, Zelenskyy said the pause followed a request from Washington. He said Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities continued during the halt.
President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social on Oct. 11 that the ceasefire took effect immediately and that both sides had agreed. His post did not provide terms. In an Oct. 12 address published on the President of Ukraine’s website, Zelenskyy said Kyiv would respect a halt if Russia did the same, citing attacks on Ukrainian energy sites.
The Associated Press reported that Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said details of the arrangement were still being worked out. AP also reported Peskov’s claim that Ukraine had not stopped striking Russian refineries.
Ryazan Governor Pavel Malkov said a mass drone attack hit the region on Oct. 15 as authorities assessed the damage. His official Telegram channel reported a fire at an oil refinery during the attack and damage to a warehouse and vehicles at another enterprise. Malkov said no casualties had been reported preliminarily. The Associated Press reported that a senior Ukrainian official, speaking anonymously, said Ukraine had struck the refinery.
In a Newsmax interview on Oct. 15, Trump said the renewed refinery strikes were pushing up global oil prices and called them “a disgrace.”
Zelenskyy has said Ukraine depends on petroleum products from abroad and that Russian attacks badly damaged the country’s only oil refinery. He has tied a halt to Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries to Russia stopping attacks on Ukraine’s energy system. AP has described Russian attacks on Ukraine’s power grid before winter as recurring and said damage can threaten heating and running water.
