Ukraine halts strikes on Russian oil facilities following US push

Ukraine has halted long-range attacks against oil refineries inside Russia following demands from US President Donald Trump, according to a Wall Street Journal report cited by Reuters.

Sources familiar with the matter indicated that Ukrainian forces executing deep-strike operations received instructions in the middle of October to freeze their targeting of Russian refining facilities as soon as active assignments wrapped up. The informal cessation is projected to remain in place through the United States midterm elections and could stretch further into November.

The suspension unfolds against a backdrop of escalating tensions between Washington and Kyiv, alongside broader attempts to restart diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the war. Interactions between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy have deteriorated significantly in recent weeks. The US president reportedly grew angry over Ukrainian drone hits on Russian fuel plants during a period of record-setting diesel costs.

Kyiv had previously resisted American calls to stop hitting the facilities, maintaining that targeting Moscow's energy sector provided a crucial counterweight to persistent Russian barrages against Ukrainian cities. In response to Ukraine's reluctance, Trump revealed an arrangement to purchase diesel directly from Russia while lifting certain sanctions enacted under legislation passed earlier in the autumn.

While Ukrainian operations against the refineries remain paused, Russian forces have expanded their own assaults directed at civilian facilities and the energy grid across Ukraine. Recent bombardments have continued to cause casualties and damage infrastructure, including a fatal strike earlier in the month that hit a warehouse in the capital city.

The report has not been independently verified, and neither government has formally announced an official policy change regarding the deep-strike campaign.