--- title: "US Urged Kyiv for Months Not to Hit Refineries: What Is Known About Appeals by Vance, Kushner, and Witkoff" description: "According to the WSJ, US Vice President Vance, along with Witkoff and Kushner, asked Zelenskyy in recent months not to target Russian refineries. Kyiv insists on continuing attacks until an energy truce is reached." date: 2026-10-16T06:00:19.755Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/us-urged-ukraine-not-to-attack-russian-refineries tags: [us-ukraine, energy-ceasefire, oil-refineries, jd-vance, jared-kushner, steve-witkoff, zelensky, trump] author: "Alexander Buran" publisher: "XAB.info" --- # US Urged Kyiv for Months Not to Hit Refineries: What Is Known About Appeals by Vance, Kushner, and Witkoff ![Volodymyr Zelenskyy talking with Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff outdoors](https://xab.info/media/2026/10/16/ssha-prosili-ukrainu-ne-atakovat-rossiyskie-npz/ssha-prosili-ukrainu-ne-atakovat-rossiyskie-npz-1.webp) ## Key Points - According to the WSJ, Vance, Witkoff, and Kushner asked Zelenskyy in recent months not to attack Russian refineries. - The US approached Ukraine six times asking to stop attacks on energy facilities following the Trump-Zelenskyy meeting at the UN General Assembly in September. - Kyiv states that attacks on refineries will continue until an energy truce is achieved. - Trump announced an energy truce, but Ukraine and Russia stated they knew nothing about such agreements. - Following new Russian strikes on energy facilities, Zelenskyy announced the resumption of refinery attacks, which Trump called a "disgrace". According to The Wall Street Journal, high-level US administration officials have in recent months appealed to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to refrain from striking Russian oil refineries, RBC-Ukraine reports, citing the American publication. Among those who reportedly led these negotiations, newspaper sources name US Vice President JD Vance, as well as presidential special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. ### Washington's Repeated Appeals Earlier, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources, that the US had approached the Ukrainian side six times asking to halt attacks on Russian energy facilities. The count of these appeals dates back to US President Donald Trump's meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September. Thus, according to the publication, Washington's pressure on Kyiv regarding energy strikes was systematic rather than a one-off event over several months. ### Kyiv's Position: Attacks Until Energy Truce Ukrainian authorities have reportedly taken a hardline stance. An informed source at RBC-Ukraine assured that attacks on Russian refineries will continue until an energy truce is reached. Thus, Kyiv links its willingness to stop strikes on refining infrastructure with the existence of a mutual and confirmed ceasefire in the energy sector. ### The "Energy Truce": Divergence in Assessments Against this backdrop, US President Donald Trump publicly demanded that Ukraine immediately halt strikes on Russian refineries and announced an energy truce between Ukraine and Russia. Meanwhile, according to available reports, both sides stated they knew nothing about such agreements. Ukraine reportedly agreed to the energy truce, but Russia subsequently attacked Ukrainian energy facilities again. Following this, Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the resumption of strikes on Russian refineries, and Donald Trump criticized the decision, calling such attacks a "disgrace". ### Significance of Signals from Washington The combination of these statements indicates that the issue of energy strikes has become one of the key points in contacts between the US, Ukraine, and Russia. The appeals by Vance, Witkoff, and Kushner reported by the WSJ show that the Trump administration is actively trying to influence Kyiv's tactics, while the Ukrainian side ties its actions to the presence of a real and mutual energy truce. The divergence over whether such a truce exists and to what extent remains a central contradiction in this line of negotiations. ## Accounts differ ### Existence of an energy truce between Ukraine and Russia - **US President Donald Trump:** Announced an energy truce between Ukraine and Russia and demanded that Ukraine immediately stop strikes on Russian refineries ([rbc.ua](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/vens-kushner-ta-vitkoff-prosili-zelenskogo-1792128611.html)) - **Ukraine and Russia:** Stated they knew nothing about such agreements regarding an energy truce ([rbc.ua](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/vens-kushner-ta-vitkoff-prosili-zelenskogo-1792128611.html)) ## Fact-Check & Sources - [Вэнс, Кушнер и Уиткофф просили Зеленского не атаковать российские НПЗ, - NYT](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/vens-kushner-ta-vitkoff-prosili-zelenskogo-1792128611.html) - Original basis: WSJ via RBC-Ukraine; six US appeals, Kyiv's position, Trump's statements about a truce and a "disgrace". - [Вэнс и Уиткофф просили Зеленского не атаковать российские НПЗ](https://www.mk.ru/politics/2026/10/16/vens-i-uitkoff-prosili-zelenskogo-ne-atakovat-rossiyskie-npz.html) - Confirms appeals by Vance, Witkoff, and Kushner to Zelenskyy asking to stop attacks on refineries. - [NYT: Вэнс, Кушнер и Уиткофф просили Зеленского не атаковать российские НПЗ](https://tass.ru/mezhdunarodnaya-panorama/28220145) - Confirms the same fact referencing the WSJ, dated October 16. - [Стало известно, что Уиткофф, Кушнер и Вэнс требовали от Зеленского](https://www.rosbalt.ru/news/2026-10-16/stalo-izvestno-chto-uitkoff-kushner-i-vens-trebovali-ot-zelenskogo-5708624) - Confirms the request to abandon strikes on Russian refineries in recent months. ## FAQ ### Who, according to the WSJ, asked Zelenskyy not to attack Russian refineries? US Vice President JD Vance, along with presidential special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. ### How many times did the US ask Ukraine to stop attacks on energy facilities? According to The Wall Street Journal, six times since the meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September. ### What is Kyiv's position on refinery strikes? The Ukrainian side states that attacks on Russian refineries will continue until an energy truce is reached. ### What is known about the "energy truce"? Trump announced an energy truce between Ukraine and Russia, but both sides stated they knew nothing about such agreements. Following new Russian strikes on energy facilities, Zelenskyy announced the resumption of refinery attacks.