Ukraine Pauses Strikes on Russian Refineries After Pressure From U.S.

KYIV—Ukraine’s military has paused its strikes against Russian oil refineries, people with knowledge of the operations said, after weeks of pressure from President Trump shook Kyiv’s confidence in U.S. support.An air attack Oct. 18 on the oil terminal in St. Petersburg, Russia.The unofficial pause, which is expected to last until after the U.S. midterm elections but potentially deeper into November, began early last week at the height of a crisis in U.S.-Ukrainian relations, the people said. Days earlier, Trump had called for the removal of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Elon Musk’s SpaceX had limited Ukraine’s use of Starlink.Ukraine’s government hasn’t announced a pause in refinery strikes. Zelensky has said Ukraine wants more protection for its own energy infrastructure—which Russia has been systematically destroying with missile and drone attacks ahead of winter—in exchange for holding off.But Russia is continuing to escalate its missile and drone attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and its cities, inflicting a mounting civilian death toll.Ukrainian units involved in long-range strikes were told in mid-October that the campaign against refineries was effectively on hold, once missions already in motion were completed, said two military officials familiar with the matter.Ukraine’s Defense Minister Evgeniy Khmara told Zelensky that the military had sensed it was best to hold off on refinery strikes because of the delicate diplomatic situation, said a person familiar with the matter. Zelensky said that was fine, but stressed that the military was free to hit refineries again if it chose to, the person said.“Our guys tried to be a little more careful during these days. But they do not have an order” not to hit refineries, Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv on Tuesday. Drone units are hitting different kinds of targets in Russia right now, he said.Ukraine’s reliance on the Starlink satellite internet service, U.S. intelligence-sharing and Patriot missile interceptors has left it vulnerable to U.S. pressure, even though Trump ended the bulk of American military and financial aid for Kyiv when he returned to the White House last year.Write to Marcus Walker at Marcus.Walker@wsj.com and Alexander Ward at alex.ward@wsj.com