Zelensky defies Trump's call for restraint

Putin vows revenge after Kyiv resumes refinery attacks

MOSCOW:

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that recent Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries had not caused significant damage and vowed that Moscow would respond, Interfax reported.

"They hit here and there. Nothing particularly significant. Nevertheless they are carrying on," Putin said.

His comments came after a major Ukrainian drone attack ignited a fire at an oil refinery in Russia's Ryazan region on Thursday morning, according to the regional governor.

It was the first confirmed Ukrainian attack on a Russian energy facility since US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an energy ceasefire.

On Wednesday, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that Ukraine had attacked oil refineries in the Saratov and Ryazan regions, although Ukraine denied any involvement.

Ukraine resumed its attacks on Russia's energy infrastructure on Thursday, after the governor of the Ryazan region in western Russia revealed there had been a strike on a major oil refinery in the territory overnight.

The strike had caused a large fire, but led to no casualties and temporary school closures, according to authorities.

The Ukrainian attacks targeting Russian oil come after Zelensky's fury at US President Trump for signing a 'treacherous' deal with Putin to buy Russian diesel on Friday.

Trump has, in recent days, demanded Zelensky quit as leader and blamed Zelensky for spiralling energy prices.

Zelensky, meanwhile, lambasted Trump over his apparent admiration for Putin, accusing the US president of having an instinctive affinity for autocrats and the super-wealthy.

"He [Trump] speaks about it openly and loudly that he loves such people and he respects such people. Because for him people who can be leaders 20 years, 30 years, 40 years, it means they can be very strong," Zelensky said.

Washington piled pressure on Kyiv to stop striking Putin's refineries, claiming that a moratorium, alongside a US deal with Moscow to buy hundreds of thousands of tonnes of Russian diesel, is necessary to bring down American fuel prices.

Zelensky condemned the US' deal with Russia, arguing it would help Russia prolong its brutal invasion of Ukraine