The Kremlin announced on Thursday that Ukraine’s attacks on Russian oil refineries contradict US peace efforts. This statement follows a Ukrainian drone strike on a refinery in the Ryazan region of Russia, which occurred overnight from Wednesday to Thursday, according to reports.
US President Donald Trump had declared a ceasefire regarding energy matters on Sunday, a decision Ukraine stated it learned of through media reports, while Russia did not publicly commit to it.
Zelensky Accused of Rejecting Peace
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Moscow did not perceive any compliance from Kyiv regarding the ceasefire, describing the attack on the refinery as “nothing new.”
“The Ukrainian regime in Kyiv continues to target these objectives, thus creating a serious contradiction with the peace efforts of the United States and American negotiators who are making vigorous attempts to initiate some form of peace process. However, so far, these vigorous efforts have been hindered by the refusal of the Kyiv regime and President Zelensky to engage in the path of peace,” Peskov stated.
Previously, Russia argued that the scope of such a ceasefire had not been defined, and on Wednesday, it reported attacking seven facilities within Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
Kyiv Strikes After Three-Day Pause
The large-scale drone attack by Ukraine on the Ryazan region ignited a fire at a refinery, as reported by the regional governor on Thursday morning.
This marked the first Ukrainian attack on a Russian energy facility since President Trump announced on Sunday that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to a ceasefire in energy matters.
Nevertheless, Russia continued to strike Ukrainian energy infrastructure, and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov conveyed that “nothing specific had been defined in concrete terms,” implying that “activities in this area continue.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the Financial Times in an interview published Thursday that Ukraine had paused attacks on energy infrastructure for three days to comply with US requests, but has resumed them due to ongoing Russian strikes on its energy facilities.
