Zelenskyy Offers Refinery Pause for Patriots
Ukraine's president told Fox News that Kyiv would stop striking Russian oil refineries for a month if the United States supplied Patriot interceptors for that month, paid for by Ukraine, or if Russia stopped hitting Ukraine's power system.
A Patriot interceptor fired from its launcher during a U.S. Army exercise in Palau, August 2025.Illustration by The Good Times, based on a U.S. Army photo by Capt. Frank Spatt (public domain)
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine would halt its drone strikes on Russian oil refineries on one of two conditions: Russia stops attacking Ukraine's energy system, or the United States supplies Patriot air defense missiles. "If you want us not to attack their refineries one month, give me Patriots for one month," he told Fox News in Kyiv, adding that Ukraine would pay for them rather than ask for aid. He said he had discussed the strikes with President Trump and his team. The State Department approved a $2.1 billion sale of 500 Patriot PAC-3 interceptors to Ukraine on October 30. A day after the interview, Russian aircraft dropped more than 10 guided bombs on Komyshuvakha, a village in the Zaporizhzhia region, hitting a school where residents collected aid and then a shelter, and killing at least 26 people, Ukrainian officials said. The strike came less than a day after a local truce around Russian-occupied Oleshky expired.
In the Fox News interview, Zelenskyy said Ukraine could not hold back while Russia kept attacking its energy facilities and killing civilians. He offered two ways out. Russia could stop hitting Ukraine's energy system, or Washington could provide Patriot missiles, for which Kyiv would pay. He said Ukraine needed them for one month and would stop the refinery strikes for the same period. Ukraine had resumed the refinery strikes after a brief halt.
The State Department approved the sale of 500 Patriot PAC-3 interceptors to Ukraine, worth $2.1 billion, on October 30, NBC News and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.
The next day, Russian aircraft struck Komyshuvakha, a village east of the city of Zaporizhzhia near the front line, with more than 10 guided bombs. Zelenskyy said that after a first bomb hit a school where residents received aid each week, "there was a double-tap strike with nine more bombs, specifically targeting the shelter where people were taking cover." Ukrainian officials said at least 26 people were killed, including two rescue workers, and five were injured.
The local truce around Oleshky, across the Dnieper River from Kherson, expired late on November 1. U.S. first lady Melania Trump helped arrange it so residents could receive aid and leave. Ukraine's General Staff said Russian forces used the pause to rotate troops and bring in supplies. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said regrouping during a ceasefire was normal practice. Whether Washington answers the Patriot offer is still open.