Russian refineries: Trump denounces "sham", Kiev invokes the continuation of Moscow strikes

Donald Trump described the resumption of Ukrainian strikes against Russian refineries as "sham" on Thursday, October 15th on Newsmax. Volodymyr Zelensky had earlier announced the lifting of this suspension, citing the continuation of Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure. RFI, franceinfo and France 24 report this same sequence, which revives tensions between Washington and Kiev. [S1] [S3] [S9]

A suspension whose reciprocity was not acquired

According to the Ukrainian President, Kiev had interrupted its attacks on refineries for three days at the request of Donald Trump. In an interview with the Financial Times on 15 October, he announced that this restriction had been lifted. Franceinfo stated that Moscow had not agreed to the energy truce announced by the US President. It is therefore not an established breach of a ceasefire accepted by the two belligerents. [S3] [S20]

The Kremlin, for its part, disputes the very existence of a Ukrainian pause. His spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, claims that the strikes on Russian energy installations have never stopped. Meduza points out, however, that a Russian accusation concerning an attack on a refinery in the Saratov region, which was made on 14 October, remains unconfirmed. The resume announcement is documented; the complete reality of the operations during the claimed suspension remains uncertain. [S20]

Two opposing arguments on oil

Donald Trump blames Volodymyr Zelensky for raising world oil prices and insists on diesel requirements. It believes that Ukraine could choose other targets. His criticism also took a personal turn: he considered the Ukrainian President more difficult to deal with than Vladimir Putin and questioned his willingness to conclude an agreement. These statements express a political appreciation, not a demonstration of Kiev's intentions. [S1] [S3] [S6]

Ukraine defends the opposite logic: hit refineries to reduce the resources that finance the Russian war. According to RFI, the dispute worsened with the US decision to buy Russian diesel. The World also places this new confrontation in the wake of the agreement between Washington and Moscow on the supply of diesel. The energy supply defended by Washington is thus presented by Kiev as a source of financing for its opponent. [S4] [S7]

However, the combined sources do not allow the own effect of these new strikes on prices paid by consumers to be quantified. They document the US accusation and the Ukrainian objective, but do not provide any estimate of the production losses associated with this recovery or measure their impact on the world market. Assigning an increase in fuel to this decision alone would therefore exceed the available elements. [S3] [S4] [S21]

In Riazan, consequences beyond the refinery

An attack caused a fire in a refinery in the Riazan region, south-east of Moscow, on 15 October, according to the Russian authorities cited by Associated Press and Meduza. The Russian Ministry of Defence claims to have intercepted drones and missiles and attributed fire to the fall of debris. These declarations are not sufficient to establish independently the extent of industrial damage. [S20] [S21]

The local consequences go beyond the oil site. According to Meduza, Governor Pavel Malkov announced the cancellation of classes in 14 schools and 25 kindergartens in Riazan due to the drone attack. He also reported damage to another company's warehouse and vehicles. These disruptions directly affect families, without their deciding on military operations. [S20]

In Ukraine, shelling also continues to affect the population. Associated Press reports that a Russian drone attack on the central area of Kirovograd resulted in three deaths and six injuries, according to Ukrainian relief services. The protection of people and facilities necessary for their daily lives is thus a concrete issue, distinct from personal exchanges between leaders. [S21]

Support Kiev while seeking a truce

In Brussels, Volodymyr Zelensky also seeks to consolidate European support. According to RTBF, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stressed the importance of an energy truce while reaffirming the military support of the allies. He referred in particular to the PURL mechanism, which makes it possible to finance US weapons for Ukraine, including Patriot interceptors, with European funds. [S13]

These positions are not necessarily contradictory: protecting infrastructure by suspending strikes and strengthening defences both meet the objective of limiting damage to populations. But their implementation depends on state decisions and commitments actually being respected. At this stage, the opposing accounts of Kiev and Moscow do not allow for an effective reciprocal suspension of energy attacks. [S3] [S13] [S20]