Zelenskyy Said the Refinery Pause Is Over. A Drone Hit the Ryazan Refinery the Same Morning.

Keenan Hutka October 15, 2026 2 minutes read

large-refinery-complex-with-lots-pipelines-daylight-generative-ai

KYIV – October 15, 2026 – President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the Financial Times that Ukraine is done pausing strikes on Russian oil refineries. “The block is out. We’re done,” he said. Hours later, the governor of Ryazan region reported a fire at an oil refinery after a major Ukrainian drone attack. It was the first reported Ukrainian strike on a Russian energy site since President Donald Trump announced an energy ceasefire on Sunday.

Ryazan governor Pavel Malkov said on Telegram that emergency services were working at the scene and that material damage was being assessed. A warehouse elsewhere was also damaged. He had earlier cancelled classes in schools and kindergartens in two districts because of what he called mass drone attacks. The Ryazan refinery is owned by Rosneft. It accounts for almost 5 per cent of Russia’s total oil refining throughput and feeds fuel toward Moscow. It has been hit by drones several times in recent months.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine had stopped the refinery strikes for three days to comply with the American request. Russia did not stop hitting Ukrainian energy sites. On Wednesday he said at least 600,000 people were without power after the previous night’s missile wave. In the FT interview he also said Ukrainian forces had been left without U.S. early-warning alerts for incoming ballistic missiles, and that Starlink service had been slowed across the country, hampering frontline operations and medium-range strikes. “It was not a technical problem, it was the will,” he said. Asked whether Ukraine would pause again to repair relations with the White House, he said the minimum acceptable return would be more U.S.-made Patriot interceptors.

Overnight into Thursday, Russia launched two Kh-59 missiles from the Black Sea and 580 attack drones. Ukraine’s Air Force said 536 drones were shot down or suppressed by 8 a.m. The numbers are preliminary. The pattern is not. Ukraine paused. Russia continued. Zelenskyy said the pause is finished. The fire at Ryazan is the first public result. Trump has not commented on the resumption. The diesel deal he announced with Putin last week is still the American position. The refinery that feeds Moscow is the Ukrainian reply.