Unnamed allies urged Ukraine to limit attacks on Russian energy sector, Zelensky says

While Ukraine’s allies initially supported taking a hard line against Russia, including attacks on energy infrastructure, they are now urging Kyiv to avoid such targets. The reason is concern over the deepening global energy crisis. Ukraine nevertheless maintains that putting pressure on Russian energy infrastructure is one of the few ways to force Moscow to end the fighting.

More than a year ago, 34 countries joined forces to support Ukraine in resisting Russian aggression, which began on a full scale in February 2022. This group of countries is known as the Coalition of the Willing. Among other things, the coalition is tasked with increasing economic pressure on Russia through sanctions and other measures. The initiative, led by the United Kingdom and France, was announced by British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer following the 2025 London summit on Ukraine.

“We refuse to fund the Russian war machine,” British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said after hosting the summit.

The United Kingdom and the US have imposed sanctions in recent months on Russia’s two largest oil companies, while the EU has targeted Russian liquefied natural gas exports.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has long advanced the argument that putting pressure on Russia through economic sanctions and attacks on energy infrastructure is the only way to effectively force the enemy to stop fighting.

For example, US Tomahawk missiles and European missiles could help raise the cost of the war for Moscow by striking key military targets, including oil refineries deep inside Russia. However, US President Donald Trump has made it clear that he does not plan to supply Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles for now.

Attacks on Russian energy infrastructure continue

Just recently, Ukraine received word from some of its allies, according to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, that it should limit attacks on Russia’s oil and energy sector amid a deepening energy crisis caused by the war in the Middle East.

He did not specify which countries had contacted him, but said that Kyiv was ready for any form of ceasefire and that he had discussed the issue with partners in the Middle East during his visit to the region last week. According to Reuters, the initial pressure to halt attacks on energy infrastructure appears to have come from Moscow.

“If Russia is ready not to attack Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, we will not respond by attacking theirs,” Zelenskyy said. “If the Russians are ready, then good—we are ready. They can propose any timeframe, and we are ready to resolve this issue.”

Ukraine’s security service, the SBU, recently announced that it has successfully struck key Russian oil infrastructure in the Baltic Sea several times in recent weeks, aiming to limit Russia’s financial resources in the fifth year of the war.

Over the past week, at least three oil facilities in Russia’s Leningrad region have been attacked, including the ports of Ust-Luga and Primorsk and the inland oil refinery in Kirishi. An estimated 20% of Russia’s total oil exports come from Ust-Luga and 22% from Primorsk.