Zelenskyy says he feels betrayed by Trump as Ukraine resumes refinery strikes and Russia launches 850+ drones (update, Oct. 15, 2026)

Case

On Oct. 15, 2026, AP reported Zelenskyy told the Financial Times Ukraine's refinery strikes will resume, saying he felt betrayed by Trump's diesel deal with Putin, the "energy ceasefire" announcement and Starlink restrictions. Zelenskyy said Russia launched more than 850 drones overnight, and that Russia escalated after receiving sanctions relief. Trump has said the U.S. hasn't stopped sharing intelligence; Russian officials called Ukraine's refinery strikes a challenge to Trump.

What happened (Oct. 14-15, 2026)
AP reported on Oct. 15, 2026 that Ukrainian drones struck a refinery in Russia's Ryazan region, about 300 km southeast of Moscow, and that Zelenskyy said six Russian warplanes were destroyed at a southwestern airfield.
Zelenskyy told the Financial Times that Ukraine's attacks on Russian oil refineries would resume, saying "We're done," per AP.
Zelenskyy said he felt betrayed by Trump's deal with Putin, the "energy ceasefire" announcement and the Starlink restrictions, said the U.S. position was "not the right side of history," and said the U.S. was "losing a strong partner."
Zelenskyy said Russia launched more than 850 drones overnight across 15 regions; Ukraine's Air Force said it stopped 536 and recorded impacts at 31 locations, and three people were killed in the Kirovohrad region.
Zelenskyy called the barrage a "massive" aerial attack and said Russia "deliberately chose to escalate" after receiving sanctions relief and seeing attempts to pressure Ukraine; the AP report does not say which relief he meant. Earlier in the week the U.S. Treasury issued a temporary license easing sanctions on Russian diesel, documented in a published GREED entry.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine was recently denied the usual Western intelligence on Russian ballistic missile strikes and that limits were placed on its use of Starlink terminals; Kyiv officials said the limits hampered Ukraine's defense. Ukrainian officials said the U.S.-owned Starshield system was not operating at normal functionality this week.

Responses and what is not established
AP says Trump has stated the U.S. has not stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine, and that Trump asked both sides to halt attacks on energy infrastructure; Zelenskyy said Russia's bombardment of Ukraine's energy sites defied that demand.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called Ukraine's refinery strikes a "direct and crude challenge to President Trump," and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Ukraine never stopped its refinery strikes. Russia's defense ministry said Ukraine resumed energy strikes and attempted a massive attack on the Ryazan refinery; this is not independently verified.
Elon Musk noted on X that Starshield is controlled by the U.S. military and Trump, per AP.
Not established: the AP reports do not describe a formal break between Zelenskyy and Trump, and ABC's report of the overnight attack does not name the U.S. or Trump in his remarks. A Russian strike on a shopping mall on the morning of Oct. 15 was not found in the AP reporting reviewed here.

Perspectives

Critic — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Zelenskyy says the Trump-Putin diesel deal, the energy-ceasefire announcement and the Starlink restrictions amount to betrayal, that Russia escalated after receiving sanctions relief, and that Ukraine will resume refinery strikes. He urges honesty from partners and says Russia must be held accountable. These are his own accounts.

Official position — Trump administration and Russian officials, as reported by AP
Trump says the U.S. has not stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine and that both sides agreed to an energy ceasefire; he asked both to halt attacks on energy infrastructure. Russian officials say Ukraine never stopped hitting refineries and call its strikes a challenge to Trump. Musk noted that Starshield is controlled by the U.S. military and Trump.

Note
The U.S. says it has not stopped sharing intelligence and Trump says both sides agreed to an energy ceasefire, while Kyiv says it was not told and Russia kept striking; Russia's defense ministry says Ukraine resumed energy strikes. Zelenskyy's accounts are his own and not independently verified here.

Sources
[1] AP (via PBS NewsHour): Ukraine resumes attacks on Russian oil refineries as relations with Trump sour (https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/ukraine-resumes-attacks-on-russian-oil-refineries-as-relations-with-trump-sour) · 2026-10-15
[2] ABC News (AP): Russia targets Ukraine with 'massive' aerial attack, including hundreds of drones, Zelenskyy says (https://abcnews.com/International/russia-targets-ukraine-massive-aerial-attack-including-850/story?id=137279786) · 2026-10-15
[3] KXEL (AP): Russia targets Ukraine with 'massive' aerial attack, including hundreds of drones, Zelenskyy says (https://kxel.com/2026/10/15/russia-targets-ukraine-with-massive-aerial-attack-including-hundreds-of-drones-zelenskyy-says/) · 2026-10-15

Connections

Related — Russian diesel sanctions waiver and the Trump–Putin diesel deal (Oct. 2026)
Update: Zelenskyy cites the diesel deal and sanctions relief as reasons he feels betrayed and says Russia escalated afterward.

Related — Starshield speed cap on Ukraine's military Starlink terminals (Oct. 13-14, 2026)
Zelenskyy cites the Starlink/Starshield limits among his grievances.

Related — Trump's "energy ceasefire" announcement between Russia and Ukraine (update, Oct. 11-12, 2026)
Update: Zelenskyy says the energy-ceasefire announcement was one of the actions that left him feeling betrayed.

Related — U.S. threat to cut intelligence sharing with Ukraine over refinery strikes (Oct. 2026), after the March 2025 pause
Update: Ukraine says it will resume the refinery strikes the U.S. reportedly warned against; Trump says intelligence sharing has not stopped.