US presses Ukraine and Europe to stop hitting Russian oil refineries, FT reports
Washington has threatened to withhold arms supplies over the strikes, the Financial Times says, as a Trump-announced energy ceasefire remains unconfirmed by Moscow.
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The United States is pushing Ukraine and European governments to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries and has threatened to block arms supplies if they continue, the Financial Times reports.
The pressure follows a week of attacks on refineries and pumping stations on both sides. President Trump said Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an energy ceasefire, but President Zelenskiy said the announcement caught him by surprise and that Ukraine would accept it only if Russia did too. Moscow has not confirmed the ceasefire.
Ukraine struck Russia's Samara oil pumping station on Saturday, the Financial Times reported, part of a string of attacks on Russian oil infrastructure. Zelenskiy separately said Ukrainian forces had also hit the Omsk and Ukhta refineries, the second strike on Omsk in two days. Ukraine's negotiating team cut short a trip to Washington that had been due to run through Saturday, where it had been pressing for more air defence support, the Financial Times reported. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen backed Zelenskiy's call for a ceasefire, and the EU is planning to increase funding for drones and missiles for Ukraine.
The dispute over sequencing, each side wanting the other to stop first, has repeatedly undercut ceasefire claims since mid-September. Tying arms supplies to a halt in refinery strikes gives Washington a harder lever than it has used before, but strikes on both sides have continued through earlier announced truces, so compliance is not assured. If Ukraine does pull back from hitting refineries, it would ease pressure on Russian fuel output that has been curbed by repeated strikes on Omsk and Samara in recent weeks.