Ukraine-Russia war live: Zelensky defies Trump with fresh refinery strikes as ‘energy ceasefire’ collapses

Trump says Zelensky ‘not a good guy’ as Ukraine resumes strikes on Russian oil refineriesUkraine has given up on Donald Trump’s "energy ceasefire" with Russia, as Volodymyr Zelensky has declared that “we’re done” supporting it.Kyiv's forces struck Russian oil refineries on Thursday, defying the US president and his ceasefire. Russian president Vladimir Putin vowed to retaliate.Trump said Ukraine's resumption of strikes on Russian refineries was a 'disgrace' that would keep global energy prices elevated. "I'm not a big fan of Zelensky," he told Newsmax. "I think they actually both would like to see it end, but ‌I think I find Zelenskiy to be more difficult to ​deal with than Putin."After Trump's surprise announcement on Sunday that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to halt attacks on energy infrastructure, Kyiv had suspended strikes on Russian refineries, which Trump blamed for raising global diesel prices.But in the days that followed, Russia ⁠was accused of launching missile and drone strikes on energy targets such as power stations.In an interview with the Financial Times on Thursday, Zelensky, who met British prime minister Andy Burnham this week, said Ukraine's patience with the "energy ceasefire" had run out. Trump says Ukraine's resumption of strikes on Russian refineries is 'disgrace'Ukraine's resumption of strikes on Russian refineries ​is a 'disgrace' that keeps global energy prices elevated, US president Donald Trump has said.Ukraine struck a Russian oil refinery after president Volodymyr ⁠Zelensky declared that Kyiv was abandoning a ceasefire covering energy sites that Trump had announced, and criticised his willingness to strike deals with Moscow."All he's doing is making the world oil price higher. Well, I think that's a ⁠disgrace," Trump told Newsmax ​after Ukraine ⁠hit a Rosneft refinery southeast of Moscow which helps to supply the Russian capital."There are a lot of targets ⁠you can hit, but when you shoot at diesel refineries where you ​make, ⁠you know, diesel oil, ‌and we need that, and the world needs that, then he's not doing a good service for the world."Alisha Rahaman Sarkar16 October 2026 05:40Trump says he is talking to Russia and China about denuclearizationUS president ​Donald Trump said Washington was holding talks with Moscow and Beijing aimed at denuclearizing the countries ⁠with the biggest stockpiles of nuclear weapons.Russia has the most stored nuclear warheads, followed by the United States and China, according to ⁠the Stockholm International Peace ​Research ⁠Institute. The US outpaces Russia on its number of deployed warheads.During ⁠an interview with Newsmax, Trump said ​he ⁠expects China to "catch up" with ‌the US within the next five years."The whole thing is a shame, ‌because I'd love to denuclearize ‌if possible, but we're actually talking to Russia about that, and we're talking to China ⁠about that denuclearization," Trump told the outlet. Alisha Rahaman Sarkar16 October 2026 05:00Order to limit Starshield for Ukraine came from inside White House - reportThe order to limit a satellite system used by Ukraine for battlefield communications and drone operations came from inside the White House, two US officials and a Western official told Reuters.The officials said leaders at the defence department received a message ⁠that the SpaceX Starshield service for the Ukrainian military needed to be slowed.The officials did not specify who in the White House made the decision or who was responsible for implementing the order. The Pentagon is the biggest customer of Starshield, which is the military-grade version of the Starlink service.Ukrainian officials said this week that military-grade Starlink receptors stopped working in Ukraine when mounted on fast-moving objects, interfering with the performance of Ukrainian drones that rely on them for onboard guidance systems over Ukrainian territory.Alisha Rahaman Sarkar16 October 2026 04:13What is Starlink and why is it so important for Ukraine?Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky has accused the United States of withdrawing vital intelligence and weakening the ‘Starlink’ communications service at a crucial time in the Russian invasion, amid a burgeoning row with US president Donald Trump over strikes on Russian oil facilities.Elon Musk’s Starshield - the military version of Starlink - has provided a lifeline to Ukraine in helping to defend against incoming attacks, as well as striking Russian targets. But Ukrainian officials on Wednesday began reporting trouble with terminals moving at speed.The reasons for the difficulties were not immediately clear but followed another souring of relations between Trump and Ukraine, after he announced a deal to waive sanctions on Russian diesel and called for Zelensky to be replaced.Explained in full:James Reynolds16 October 2026 03:00Ukraine has ‘broken Russia’s advance capability’ claims former generalUkraine has “broken Russia’s ability to advance” by killing so many of its soldiers, Kyiv’s former top general has claimed.General Oleksandr Syrskyi claimed Russia’s overall war losses were six times higher than Ukraine’s, adding that “if you count only dead, then it’s up to 11 times”.It comes weeks after an investigation by Russian independent outlet Mediazona identified the names of 258,989 Russian military personnel killed in Ukraine.British intelligence agency GCHQ said in May that nearly 500,000 Russian troops have been killed since Moscow launched the war in February 2022.The story in full:James Reynolds16 October 2026 02:00Broken dating apps and delayed takeaways: How Ukrainian strikes on data centres are upending daily life in RussiaAfter battering Russia’s version of Amazon, Ukraine has set its sights on data centres - dealing an unlikely blow to Moscow’s dating scene.A barrage of attacks on data centres and telecommunications infrastructure has wreaked havoc on Russian daily life, including three strikes in the past week on buildings owned by Yandex - the Russian equivalent of Google.Yandex said its infrastructure had been damaged, causing the complete shutdown of its data centre in the Vladimir region on Sunday. On Wednesday, Kyiv’s drones struck a data centre owned by Sberbank, the country’s largest bank.James Reynolds16 October 2026 01:00What is Starlink and why is it so important for Ukraine?Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky has accused the United States of withdrawing vital intelligence and weakening the ‘Starlink’ communications service at a crucial time in the Russian invasion, amid a burgeoning row with US president Donald Trump over strikes on Russian oil facilities.Elon Musk’s Starshield - the military version of Starlink - has provided a lifeline to Ukraine in helping to defend against incoming attacks, as well as striking Russian targets. But Ukrainian officials on Wednesday began reporting trouble with terminals moving at speed.The reasons for the difficulties were not immediately clear but followed another souring of relations between Trump and Ukraine, after he announced a deal to waive sanctions on Russian diesel and called for Zelensky to be replaced.Explained in full:James Reynolds16 October 2026 00:00The Independent View: Trump is abandoning Ukraine to its bleakest winter yetEditorial: Battered by President Putin’s war of terror and apparently losing crucial support from US intelligence and Elon Musk’s Starlink, Kyiv’s brave citizens are closer to cracking than they have been since the start of the warTrump is abandoning Ukraine to its bleakest winter yetEditorial: Battered by President Putin’s war of terror and apparently losing crucial support from US intelligence and Elon Musk’s Starlink, Kyiv’s brave citizens are closer to cracking than they have been since the start of the warJames Reynolds15 October 2026 23:00Streeting and Hegseth welcome return of Starlink to UkraineBritain's defence minister said he and ⁠US defense secretary Pete Hegseth welcomed the restoration of the Starlink service in Ukraine in talks on Thursday, and he stressed the need to move forward in supporting Kyiv following renewed discord between the US and Ukrainian leaders.In an appearance on Fox News' "The Story with Martha MacCallum," Wes Streeting said it was "not the first time we've seen a ⁠falling out between President Trump and President Zelensky.""It is, ​I ⁠think, important after events of recent days that we move forward in a collective spirit," he said, adding that he had quoted Saint Francis of Assisi in his meeting ⁠with Hegseth at the Pentagon: "Where there is discord, may we bring harmony.""The UK sees our role ​and ⁠responsibility at times like this to bring ‌our friends back together again," Streeting said."We need President Trump engaged on Ukraine. He has been, and the diplomatic track is as important in ending the war as making sure Ukraine has the ‌weapons it needs to see off Russian aggression," he said.Bryony Gooch15 October 2026 22:32Britain pledges £17 million to repair Chernobyl power plantBritain is to finance essential repairs at the Chernobyl nuclear site following a Russian drone strike, as Andy Burnham sought to reinforce support for Ukraine during "dark and difficult days" for the nation.The UK will contribute £17 million towards restoring the plant's protective shelter and ventilation systems damaged in an attack last year, following concerns that corrosion could pose long-term safety and environmental hazards.James Reynolds15 October 2026 22:00