Ukrainian drones attacked an oil refinery in Russia's Ryazan region early Thursday, starting a fire at the site about 300 kilometres southeast of Moscow, according to Russia's Defense Ministry and Ryazan Governor Pavel Malkov.
A senior Ukrainian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that Ukraine had hit the refinery. Governor Malkov said emergency services were working at the scene and that material damage was being assessed.
The strike came hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a brief pause on attacks against Russian refineries was over. Zelenskyy said Kyiv had held back for three days at Washington's request, while Russia continued striking Ukrainian energy infrastructure. He said the pause would not continue indefinitely if Russia did not reciprocate.
The dispute centres on an energy ceasefire proposed by US President Donald Trump on Sunday. Zelenskyy said Moscow ignored the proposal within hours, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without power. The Kremlin has not said it agreed to the ceasefire, and Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Ukraine never stopped its strikes on refineries. It was not possible to independently verify each side's claims.
Zelenskyy also criticised what he described as a withdrawal of US intelligence support and limits on Ukraine's use of Starlink terminals. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called Ukraine's strikes on oil facilities a direct challenge to Trump. The strike risks further complicating Kyiv's relations with Washington, which have soured in recent days.