Ukraine attacked a Russian oil refinery on Thursday (October 16, 2026), abandoning a brief truce involving energy-related targets that it said Moscow did not heed, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he felt betrayed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
asserted
he → attack → Trump
The drone strike started a fire at the refinery about 300 kilometers (180 miles) southeast of Moscow in Russia’s Ryazan region, according to the Russian Defense Ministry and Ryazan Gov. Pavel Malkov.
uncertain
strike → start → Ministry
Russia’s Astra online news outlet posted what it said was a photograph of the blaze.
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it → post → blaze
The strike could further complicate Kyiv’s relations with Trump, which have soured again in recent days amid deepening tensions between Ukraine and Washington.
uncertain
which → complicate → Ukraine
Mr. Zelenskyy said he was outraged by Russia’s continuing aerial bombardment of energy infrastructure in apparent defiance of Trump’s demand on Sunday for both sides to halt those attacks.
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sides → say → attacks
Despite going along with Mr. Trump’s demand for a truce, Mr. Zelenskyy complained in recent days that Ukraine was denied the usual Western intelligence on Russian ballistic missile strikes and that limits were placed on its use of U.S.-made Starlink communication terminals.
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limits → go → terminals
He said his patience had run out, telling the Financial Times in an interview published Thursday that Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries would resume.
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attacks → say → refineries
“We’re done,” Mr. Zelenskyy was quoted as saying.
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Zelenskyy → do → ?
A senior Ukrainian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly, confirmed that Ukraine had hit the refinery.
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Ukraine → speak → refinery
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that Ukraine never stopped its strikes on refineries.
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Ukraine → say → refineries
It wasn't possible to independently verify each side's claims.
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It → verify → claims
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov labeled Ukraine’s strikes on oil facilities as a “direct and crude challenge to President Trump.”
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Lavrov → label → Trump
Another point of tension with Ukraine is a deal Trump made with Russian President Vladimir Putin to import Russian diesel, despite international efforts to sanction Russia for its invasion and diplomatically isolate Putin.
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Trump → make → Putin
Mr. Zelenskyy slammed the agreement, saying it would allow Russia to press on with its full-scale invasion of Ukraine that began more than 4½ years ago.
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that → slam → Ukraine
U.S. efforts under Mr. Trump to end the war have made no progress.
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efforts → end → progress
In an interview late Wednesday with Piers Morgan on the British journalist’s YouTube show, Mr. Zelenskyy said he felt betrayed by Mr. Trump’s deal with Mr. Putin, the energy ceasefire announcement and the Starlink limits that restricted the use of Ukrainian drones.
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that → say → drones
Asked if he felt betrayed by the American president, he said, “Really, yes, between us.”
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he → ask → us
“Our country has to survive, and we count on our real partners, strategic partners, the United States and President Trump,” Mr. Zelenskyy told Morgan.
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Zelenskyy → have → Morgan
He said the behavior of the U.S., including restricting the Starlink system, “was really strange.”
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behavior → say → system
In the same interview, Mr. Zelenskyy said Ukraine was “losing a strong partner” in the United States.
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Ukraine → say → States
“It’s painful when President Trump chooses one side, not our side.
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Trump → ’ → side
But we are OK that he’s in the middle,” he said.
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he → ’ → middle
Mr. Zelenskyy said someone is pushing Mr. Trump into a stance that is “not the right side of history.”
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that → say → history
On Thursday, Mr. Trump openly declared his dislike of Mr. Zelenskyy in an interview with Newsmax, criticising him for resuming strikes on Russia’s energy infrastructure and for not wanting to settle with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
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Trump → declare → Putin
“Zelenskyy is not a good guy for us to deal with,” Mr. Trump said.
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Trump → deal → ?
“I’m not a big fan of Zelenskyy.
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I → ’m → Zelenskyy
They’ve destroyed that country.”
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They → destroy → country
The U.S. president added, “I think I find Zelenskyy to be more difficult to deal with than Putin.”
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Zelenskyy → add → Putin
Mr. Trump suggested that Ukraine should hold an election to replace Mr. Zelenskyy, as he suggested that Russia had a military edge because of its size.
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Russia → suggest → size
The president, who was not asked about the Starlink issue or intelligence sharing in the interview, added that Ukraine had the best military equipment because it came from the U.S.
Elon Musk noted on X that the military version of Starlink, called Starshield, is controlled by the U.S. military and Mr. Trump.
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version → ask → military
A Ukrainian official said the country has not received an explanation from SpaceX, the company that maintains the Starlink satellites, or the Pentagon, on the slowdown.
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that → say → slowdown
The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive situation.
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official → speak → situation
The Pentagon has not answered questions about the slowdown from The Associated Press either.
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Pentagon → answer → Press
The absence of Western intelligence leaves Ukraine more vulnerable to Russian ballistic missiles.
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absence → leave → missiles
Trump has said the U.S. hasn't stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine.
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U.S. → say → Ukraine
Amid fears that the Trump administration may be withdrawing support for Ukraine, Mr. Zelenskyy went to Brussels on Thursday for talks with European Union leaders attending a two-day summit.
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Zelenskyy → withdraw → summit
Mr. Zelenskyy said he would meet with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, French President Emmanuel Macron, and the prime ministers of Poland, Denmark and Belgium.
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he → say → Poland
The previous day, he visited London, where he won pledges of more help from U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
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he → visit → Burnham
Asked whether the EU still trusts Mr. Trump, the bloc’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, replied: “We definitely have a different approach to this war.
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We → ask → war
We see that we have to pressure the aggressor to stop the war, not the victim to surrender.”
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we → see → war
…and 12 more, not listed.
The Aporia
