Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has ordered strikes on Russian oil refineries to resume, after accusing US President Donald Trump and SpaceX owner Elon Musk of blocking Kyiv's access to satellite technology, BILD reports. Zelensky said he had halted attacks on Russian energy infrastructure for three days to comply with an "energy ceasefire" Trump announced on Sunday. According to BILD, he said Moscow continued striking Ukrainian energy facilities during that pause, prompting Ukraine to hit back.
The decision, reported during Zelensky's visit to England, points to widening friction between Washington and Kyiv.
Why it matters
Ukraine's army depends on SpaceX's Starlink satellite network for communications along the front line, and on Western — above all American — intelligence to detect and defend against Russian attacks. If either channel is degraded, Kyiv's ability to fight and to protect its power grid weakens. A senior Ukrainian government official told BILD that the absence of warnings before Russian missile launches and problems with Starlink could be playing into Russia's hands, saying it was "obvious" that Russia was being helped "for some reason."
The same official said the United States had twice failed to notify Ukraine about the launch of Russian missiles at a time when the energy sector was under attack, and added a second charge: that Starlink's speed had been throttled. Zelensky has also complained recently that allies once again failed to warn his country in time before nighttime attacks.
Musk points to US government control
Sergiy Beskrestnov, a technology adviser at Ukraine's defense ministry, said operation of the Starlink satellite communications system was significantly restricted in the night to Wednesday, causing Ukrainian attacks to fail, according to BILD. Another government official said the disruption benefited Russia. Reports have since circulated that Starlink is working without restriction again, though that has not been confirmed.
Starlink is run by Musk's space company SpaceX. Responding to Ukrainian criticism, Musk said the system is owned and controlled by the US government, and that any limits on speed or use are set by the US military and ultimately by the US president.
Washington and allies push back
US, NATO and EU officials disputed the Ukrainian account. A US government representative denied that the American position on intelligence sharing with Ukraine had changed. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Trump had given assurances that the exchange had not been stopped. The EU said it saw "no signs" that information sharing had ended. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said in Berlin he saw no "substantial reduction" in US support for Ukraine.
Media reports had said Washington at one point threatened to stop passing on such intelligence.
Zelensky's criticism of Trump
In comments to the Financial Times, Zelensky directed unusually blunt criticism at Trump. "If you are in the middle, you have to stay in the middle, not on the wrong side. I think Trump's advisers are wrong. I don't know who is pushing him to the wrong side. That is not the right side of history," he said Wednesday during his England visit, according to BILD.
In an interview with a leading British journalist, he also stressed that Ukrainians would not betray their country: "We do not sell our land. Look, people, for us it is not about business. It is about our life."
Zelensky's remarks followed his claim that Trump and Musk were denying Kyiv military access to SpaceX's satellite technology.
What to watch: whether Starlink service and US intelligence sharing hold steady, and whether Moscow responds to the renewed strikes on its refineries.
