UPDATE, OCTOBER 18 — Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia attacked Ukraine’s energy, oil and gas sectors 76 times in the week after Donald Trump announced an energy ceasefire, Reuters reports.

The Ukrainian president said the latest strikes hit substations in Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskyi and Odesa. TNC has not independently verified his tally, which should not be read as 76 distinct facilities.

Reuters notes that neither Kyiv nor Moscow confirmed the agreement announced by Trump.

What changed: Added Zelenskyy’s October 18 claim. The original October 10 publication date, ID and address are retained.

Latest source: Reuters’s full October 18 report by Dan Peleschuk via Internazionale.

Earlier reporting: October 16

UPDATE, OCTOBER 16, 1:00 A.M. EASTERN: U.S. President Donald Trump has condemned Ukraine’s resumed strikes on Russian oil refineries, calling them a “disgrace” and arguing that they keep global energy prices elevated.

Trump made the comments in a Newsmax interview aired Thursday after Ukraine struck the Rosneft-owned Ryazan refinery southeast of Moscow. The Northern Current has not independently assessed the damage or the strike’s effect on global fuel prices.

Ukraine ends a brief pause

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv had paused attacks on Russian energy sites for three days after Trump announced an energy ceasefire. Ukraine then ended the pause, saying Russia had continued missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.

Reuters and The Associated Press reported that Ryazan Governor Pavel Malkov said a Ukrainian drone attack caused a fire at the refinery. A senior Ukrainian official also confirmed the strike to AP. The refinery accounts for nearly five per cent of Russian refining throughput and helps supply Moscow, according to Reuters.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the recent refinery attacks had caused no significant damage and promised a response, according to Interfax as reported by Reuters. The Kremlin said Ukraine’s actions ran counter to U.S. peace efforts, while also acknowledging that the scope of the proposed energy pause had not been settled.

Trump and Zelensky trade criticism

Trump told Newsmax that attacks on diesel-producing refineries were harmful to the wider world and said he found Zelensky more difficult to deal with than Putin. AP reported that Trump was not asked in that interview about the recent Starlink restrictions or intelligence sharing.

Zelensky said Ukraine’s patience had run out after Russian attacks continued during the pause. He also criticized the U.S. approach to Moscow and said Ukraine felt betrayed by the diesel agreement, the ceasefire announcement and restrictions affecting battlefield satellite services.

The ceasefire was announced by Trump but never emerged as a jointly published agreement with a defined start time, monitoring system or enforcement mechanism. The latest strike therefore marks the collapse of a short, disputed pause rather than the breach of a documented comprehensive truce.

Starlink service partly restored

The dispute follows Ukrainian reports that unannounced restrictions on high-speed military satellite terminals disrupted drone missions. Elon Musk later said the military Starshield system is controlled by the U.S. government and that usage limits are decided by the U.S. military and ultimately the president.

A Ukrainian official told Axios that Starlink and Starshield service had been restored to full capacity. Reuters separately reported that a Ukrainian defence source said terminals were again working while in motion but only up to about 160 kilometres per hour, which Ukrainian officials considered too slow for some attack and interceptor drones. Those accounts indicate improvement but differ on whether operational capability was fully restored.

Why it matters to Canada

Canada has committed more than $8.5 billion in military assistance to Ukraine since 2022, according to the Department of National Defence. Changes to U.S. intelligence, communications and diplomatic support can affect a war in which Canada remains a major backer of Kyiv.

What changed: This article now includes Ukraine’s October 15 strike on the Ryazan refinery, the collapse of the brief energy pause, Trump’s response, Putin’s assessment and the latest conflicting accounts of restored satellite capability. The same article ID, address and original October 10 publication date have been retained.

Sources: Reuters, October 16 at 12:01 a.m. EDT; Reuters, October 15; Reuters on Putin’s response, October 15; The Associated Press, October 15; Axios, October 15; Government of Canada: Operation UNIFIER; Wikimedia Commons image record; CC BY 4.0 licence.

Lead image: a Support Forces of Ukraine soldier installs a Starlink terminal on July 21, 2022. Support Forces of Ukraine Command / mil.gov.ua, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0. File photograph; not an image of the October 2026 restrictions or refinery strike.