Zelensky says allies asked him to scale back attacks on Russian energy

Volodymyr Zelensky has said Ukraine’s allies have urged him to scale back attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure amid the ongoing global fuel crisis – but that they would only end if Russia stopped targeting Ukraine’s first.

The Ukrainian president told journalists in a WhatsApp voice message that, by launching attacks on Russia’s energy system, Ukraine was only responding in kind.

It is unclear which countries he may have been referring to. China and India remain heavily dependent on Russian oil, and the EU on Russian gas.

Zelensky’s comments come amid a string of long-range Ukrainian strikes on Russia’s energy sector, including the key oil export terminal at the port of Ust-Luga outside St Petersburg.

“We have received messages from some of our partners asking about how our responses against Russia’s oil sector – the energy sector – can be reduced,” Zelensky said in the voice message.

“If Russia is ready not to strike Ukraine’s energy, then we’ll respond by not attacking theirs.”

In response to rising energy prices caused by the war in Iran and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route, the US recently eased some sanctions on Russian oil. China and India remain the largest buyers of Russian crude, accounting for about 85% of its exports in February, according to research data.