The US pressured Drapaty and Palisa over strikes on Russian refineries

The administration of US President Donald Trump has threatened senior Ukrainian officials, in particular the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Mykhailo Drapatom and Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Pavlo Palis, over possible attacks on Russian energy infrastructure.

This is reported by Kyiv Independent .

According to Ukrainian officials, the American side called senior officials of the Ukrainian military command and warned about the consequences of strikes on Russian energy infrastructure.

“They called all the senior military officials with threats,” one Ukrainian official said. He also said the US side warned of a possible cessation of intelligence sharing and US participation in the arms supply mechanism through PURL.

According to the publication, the calls from the American side were received by Mykhailo Drapatiy and Pavlo Palisa, who is responsible for military issues in the President’s Office. Palisa also confirmed that he received threats from the Trump administration.

Pressure on Ukrainian officials intensified after Donald Trump announced an energy truce between Ukraine and Russia on October 11. The Ukrainian authorities were not informed in advance of this statement, and after its publication, Kyiv began to call for restraint from strikes on Russian oil refineries.

Meanwhile, Russia continued its attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, with the Kharkiv Thermal Power Plant being hit just hours after Trump’s announcement.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Kyiv is ready to adhere to a mutual energy truce, but it should cover the entire energy infrastructure of both countries, not just Russian oil refineries.

“We are ready to adhere to an energy ceasefire if Russia is ready to do the same. We agree if they agree,” Zelensky said.

He also emphasized that after the announcement of the ceasefire, Russia continued to attack Ukrainian energy facilities.

“Immediately after the (Trump’s ceasefire) post, Russia launched a targeted strike on a power plant in Kharkiv, causing even greater damage to our energy system,” Zelenskyy said.

Although direct US military assistance was suspended after Donald Trump’s inauguration, intelligence sharing between Washington and Kyiv continued.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine is ready for a mutual cessation of attacks on energy infrastructure, but stressed the need for both sides to adhere to the agreements. According to him, the Ukrainian side has already demonstrated its readiness to refrain from attacks on Russian oil refineries, while Russia has continued to strike Ukrainian energy facilities.