Ukraine refinery strikes against Russian oil facilities have been paused after pressure from US President Donald Trump, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people with knowledge of the operations. The unofficial halt is expected to last until after the US midterm elections on 3 November, and potentially deeper into November.
Ukrainian units carrying out long-range strikes were told in mid-October that the campaign against refineries was effectively on hold once missions already in motion were completed, the Journal reported. Reuters, which reported the Journal’s findings on Friday, said it could not immediately verify the report.
FAKTA
- What is reported: Ukraine’s military has paused its strikes on Russian oil refineries, in an unofficial halt that began in mid-October.
- Reported by: The Wall Street Journal, citing people with knowledge of the operations; carried by Reuters on 30 October 2026.
- How long it may last: Until after the US midterm elections on 3 November, and potentially deeper into November.
- What Kyiv has confirmed: Ukraine’s government has not announced a pause. President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that Ukrainian troops “do not have an order” not to hit refineries.
- The wider context: Russia has meanwhile stepped up attacks on Ukrainian energy and civilian infrastructure, while efforts to revive US-backed peace talks continue.
What the report says
According to the Journal, the pause began early last week, at the height of a crisis in US-Ukrainian relations. Days earlier, Trump had called for the removal of President Zelensky, and Elon Musk’s SpaceX had limited Ukraine’s use of the Starlink satellite internet service, the newspaper reported.
The Journal also reports that Ukraine’s Defence Minister, Evgeniy Khmara, told Zelensky that the military had sensed it was best to hold off on refinery strikes because of the delicate diplomatic situation. Zelensky is reported to have said that was fine, but stressed that the military was free to hit refineries again if it chose to, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The newspaper notes that the last attack on Russian oil infrastructure it cites was on 20 October, when Ukraine hit an oil pumping station on the Druzhba pipeline in Russia’s Tambov region.
What Kyiv has said — and has not said
Ukraine’s government has not announced a pause in refinery strikes, the Journal stresses. Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv on Tuesday that Ukrainian forces were being “a little more careful during these days”, but that they did not have an order not to hit refineries.
Zelensky has said Ukraine wants more protection for its own energy infrastructure — which Russia has been systematically attacking with missiles and drones ahead of winter — in exchange for holding off, according to the Journal.
Kyiv had previously refused to halt the strikes, saying its long-range drone campaign is its only viable response to years of Russian bombardment, Reuters reported.
Why the Ukraine refinery strikes matter
Washington’s concern centres on energy prices. Reuters reported that relations between Trump and Zelensky have taken a sharp downward turn in recent weeks, with Trump growing increasingly frustrated over Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy infrastructure as diesel prices hit record highs.
That frustration prompted Trump to announce a deal to buy diesel from Moscow and to waive sanctions on Moscow authorised by a bill he signed in September, Reuters reported.
The Journal reports that US envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner pressed Kyiv during recent mediation contacts, with one US official cited as saying a 30-day pause on refineries would be a way for Ukraine to show gratitude for the time and energy spent mediating with Moscow. Kyiv’s European allies have also advised Zelensky to heed the political sensitivity of energy prices as the midterms approach, senior European officials told the Journal.
On the Starlink question, the Journal reports that Trump called Musk the day after a meeting in Oslo and asked him to restore Ukraine’s satellite service, while US officials said the two issues — Starlink and refinery strikes — were not linked in any way.
What happens next
For now, the reported pause remains unofficial and unverified by Reuters, and Kyiv has left itself room to resume strikes. Whether the halt holds past the midterm elections — and whether it helps revive US-backed peace talks to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War Two — will become clearer in the coming weeks.
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