Follow-Up: Ukrainian Drones Strike Refinery in Russia's Ryazan Region, Sparking Fire; Zelenskyy Says Energy Truce 'Has Ended'
Ukrainian drones struck an oil refinery in Russia's Ryazan region early on Thursday, October 15, sparking a fire, according to Reuters and the Associated Press. Russia's Defense Ministry and Ryazan Governor Pavel Malkov confirmed the strike, and a senior Ukrainian official, speaking anonymously, confirmed to the Associated Press that Ukraine had hit the refinery.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the Financial Times that Ukraine's patience had run out, that the energy truce "has ended," and that Ukraine would resume striking Russian oil refineries. The attack on the Ryazan region refinery came after Zelenskyy made those remarks.
As background, Ukraine had paused its attacks on Russian refineries for several days after President Donald Trump announced last Sunday that Russia and Ukraine had reached an energy ceasefire. Russia then continued to launch large-scale missile and drone attacks on Ukraine, including attacks on energy facilities that left hundreds of thousands of people without power.
The two sides gave differing accounts of an earlier round of attacks this week. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Novak said on Wednesday that Ukraine had attacked refineries in both the Saratov and Ryazan regions; Ukraine at the time denied involvement in Wednesday's attacks. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday, via the Interfax news agency, that the Ukrainian attacks had not caused significant damage and that Russia would respond.
Earlier coverage: On October 12, this outlet reported that Zelenskyy had accused Russia of violating the energy ceasefire and that the European Union had approved new sanctions on Russia. The strike and fire at the Ryazan region refinery are the latest development in that story line since that report.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图（资料图）：俄罗斯一座炼油厂遇袭后起火、浓烟升起（莫斯科炼油厂2026年6月遇袭起火资料图，非本次梁赞现场）。Rotafinus 摄，CC0 1.0（Wikimedia Commons） / File photo: Smoke rises from a Russian oil refinery after an attack (Moscow refinery fire, June 2026; not the Ryazan site). By Rotafinus, CC0 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
