Ukraine Ready to Halt Refinery Strikes for Energy Truce, Zelensky Says

President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Sunday, Oct. 11, that Ukraine is prepared to halt long-range strikes against Russian oil refineries if Russia ceases attacks against Ukrainian energy infrastructure. In a statement on Facebook reviewing weekly Russian aerial bombardments, Zelensky said halting attacks on power and utility networks is achievable immediately, but asserted that Moscow remains unwilling to de-escalate.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “It is feasible to stop strikes on energy today, but Putin does not want to do this,” Zelensky stated. “Ukraine will be ready to stop strikes on Russian oil refineries if Russia ceases strikes against our energy infrastructure. Any de-escalation steps must be mutual and with real guarantees.” The Ukrainian head of state emphasized that Russia bears sole responsibility for the war in Europe, noting that diplomatic engagements with European leaders are scheduled throughout Sunday to coordinate additional defense packages, primarily surface-to-air defense systems and ammunition for combat aviation. Weekly strike toll and escalating civilian casualties Zelensky highlighted the operational scale of Russian standoff strikes over the preceding seven days, reporting that Russian forces launched approximately 1,450 guided aerial bombs (KABs), 75 missiles of various types, and more than 1,640 strike drones against Ukrainian territory. According to the president, roughly 60 percent of the unmanned aerial vehicles deployed during the weekly barrages were high-speed, turbojet-powered variants engineered to challenge low-altitude air defense interception networks. Other Topics of Interest Zaporizhzhia Bombing Death Toll Reaches 20 as Rescue Ends Rescuers cleared 320 tons of rubble after a glide bomb hit a residence, confirming 20 dead as the city observes mourning. The weekly barrage produced casualties and structural destruction across multiple provinces. Zelensky confirmed that search and rescue operations in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia concluded on Sunday morning following a Russian guided bomb strike on a residential apartment building, with the final death toll rising to 23, including four children. In the Kharkiv region, Russian munitions struck a healthcare facility on Saturday, while overnight attacks engaged municipal civilian infrastructure, residential housing, and regional utility grids. “I am grateful to all our emergency services, who are always alongside our people and resolving consequences after Russian strikes,” Zelensky said. Petrochemical targeting and the energy armistice framework Zelensky’s proposal for a reciprocal cessation of energy attacks comes amid an intensified Ukrainian interdiction campaign directed against downstream petrochemical logistics across the Russian Federation. Overnight into Saturday, Oct. 10, Ukrainian Defense Forces conducted a repeat strike against the Samara linear production and dispatching station (LVDS) near Prosvet in Russia’s Samara region. The critical petrochemical junction blends petroleum streams to formulate standardized export-grade Urals crude while supplying refined petroleum products to the Russian armed forces. The attack followed an earlier precision strike on Oct. 7 that destroyed four large-capacity RVS-50000 crude oil storage reservoirs at the facility. The interdiction of refining and transshipment nodes forms part of a wider asymmetric campaign that has also engaged deep logistical facilities, including the Yug Rusi oil terminal in Rostov-on-Don and multiple corporate data centers in Vladimir, Kaluga, and Ryazan regions. The issue of refinery strikes has emerged as a central point of friction between Kyiv and Washington. US officials have urged Ukraine to unilaterally halt drone strikes on Russian refining capacity to mitigate pressure on international fuel benchmarks, a request that coincided with a controversial bilateral agreement between US President Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin to permit Russian diesel exports onto global markets. Ukrainian officials have consistently rejected calls for unilateral restraint, arguing that degrading Russian refining infrastructure directly restricts fuel supplies to frontline Russian military units and diminishes state revenues supporting Moscow’s war effort. Zelensky reiterated that a suspension of deep interdiction operations can occur only within the framework of an enforceable, bilateral agreement that shields Ukraine’s domestic power and heating grid ahead of the winter season. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 90% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.