The key facts
- Zelensky is ready to stop strikes on Russian refineries in exchange for a mutual energy truce, access to Starshield, or deliveries of missiles for the Patriot
- The US is seeking an end to attacks on oil refining over the risk of rising global fuel prices
- Zelensky said the US transmission of ballistic missile warnings has been fully restored
Conditions for halting attacks on refineries
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he could stop Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries in exchange for meeting one of three conditions. Reuters reported this, citing the Ukrainian leader's interview with the TV channel TSN. The first option is a mutual halt to attacks on energy infrastructure: Zelensky is ready to stop striking refineries if Moscow stops hitting Ukrainian power plants and other energy facilities. The other two conditions are addressed to Washington: Kyiv wants permission to use the Starshield satellite system over Russian territory to locate ballistic missile launch sites, or deliveries of additional missiles for American Patriot air defense systems.
The US position and the restoration of warnings
According to Life.ru, the United States is pushing for an end to Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refining, fearing a further rise in global fuel prices. Earlier, Donald Trump publicly expressed displeasure with the strikes on refineries, pointing to their consequences for global diesel supplies. At the same time, Zelensky said that the United States have fully restored the transmission of warnings about impending ballistic missile strikes — previously it had been limited. According to him, Starshield's performance has also improved. He linked these changes to talks with US presidential special envoy Steve Witkoff in Oslo.
Further talks
A new round of technical consultations among Russia, Ukraine and the US is scheduled for November. Zelensky ruled out the neutral status imposed on Kyiv and the reduction of the armed forces from the possible agenda: as Life.ru previously reported, the Ukrainian leader intends to maintain an army of 800,000 personnel provided there is funding. He is willing to discuss territorial issues only at the level of heads of state, and again called for a personal meeting with Vladimir Putin with US mediation. Zelensky also agreed to freeze the conflict along the line of contact 'as early as today.' Earlier, Life.ru examined the situation around the energy truce, which Moscow, Kyiv and Washington discussed in mid-October: no public confirmation of an agreed moratorium appeared at the time, but after consultations with Ukrainian and European representatives Witkoff reported progress in the talks and told Putin about them during a meeting in St. Petersburg.
Why it matters
Zelensky's statement fixes Kyiv's concrete 'bargaining position' on the issue most sensitive for the US — strikes on oil refining, which affect global fuel prices. In practical terms, this means that the fate of the energy truce now depends not only on Moscow but also on Washington's decisions regarding Starshield and missiles for the Patriot. The key marker for readers is the November round of technical consultations among the three parties, which will show whether the stated conditions are being implemented.
