Ukraine pauses strikes on Russian refineries after Trump pressure, and the halt is expected to last until after US midterms
A fireball and black smoke rise from the Yanos refinery near Yaroslavl during a Ukrainian drone strike in September, as Kyiv has since suspended its refinery campaign after US envoy Jared Kushner pressed Volodymyr…
Ukraine's military quietly halted refinery strikes in mid-October after US envoy Jared Kushner told President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Oslo on October 20 that a 30-day pause would demonstrate "gratitude" for Washington's mediation efforts with Moscow. The halt exposed deepening cracks between Kyiv and Washington, with Zelenskyy publicly insisting his forces had no formal order to stop — even as the pause was already in effect.
Kushner, joining the Oslo meeting remotely due to illness, warned the conversation was "very tough" and linked the pause to sustaining US diplomatic effort with Russia.
Zelenskyy sought reciprocal concessions — a mutual halt to energy strikes, extra Patriot missiles, or Starlink access inside Russia — but Washington agreed to none of them.
Russia killed at least 20 people in drone and missile strikes on Ukrainian cities while the pause held, including at least 14 at a crowded railway platform in Dnipro.
