Ukraine intensified drone strikes on Russian fuel and supply targets on Friday, hours after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a diesel supply deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin. A Ukrainian drone strike set the NZNP Rostovsky oil products terminal in Rostov-on-Don ablaze, according to open-source intelligence reports . The facility, linked to petroleum exports, was hit shortly after Trump’s announcement of Russia’s agreement to deliver over 300,000 tonnes of diesel to global markets .
The U.S. has warned Ukraine to halt such attacks, with Axios reporting that Washington threatened to cut off intelligence sharing if strikes on Russian oil refineries continued . Trump has reportedly pressed Kyiv to stop the attacks at least six times, citing rising U.S. gasoline prices.
Ukrainian drones also targeted a major oil terminal in Russia’s Rostov region, sparking a large fire, according to local reports . The strikes followed a pattern of escalating Ukrainian drone operations: French mapper Clément Molin counted 770 strikes on Russian supply trucks in September, up from 630 in August .
The attacks came as U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff held trilateral talks in Miami with Ukrainian and European representatives to push for a ceasefire before winter . Putin told Trump in a phone call that drone attacks on Moscow during Russia’s parliamentary elections last month made immediate peace talks unlikely, according to Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov . Zelensky has called the U.S.-Russia diesel deal a “gift to Putin,” arguing it funds Russia’s war effort .
