Settled
Kremlin says Ukraine will “pay the price” for strikes on Russian refineries
In short
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Ukraine will pay the price for strikes on what he called Russia’s civilian economy, and described Russian strikes as retribution. He was responding to Volodymyr Zelensky’s October 3 statement that Kyiv would increase the intensity of attacks on Russian oil refineries. Russia’s Defence Ministry had said a day earlier it would step up strikes on military and military-industrial sites in Ukraine.
Why it matters
The statements extend a public exchange over strikes on energy infrastructure, with both sides describing further escalation rather than restraint. Refinery and energy targets carry consequences beyond the battlefield, but the documents give no data on actual damage or on whether the announced intensification has been carried out.
Key facts
- Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Ukraine must pay for strikes on facilities he described as part of Russia’s civilian economy. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Peskov said the Ukrainian side and the “Kyiv regime” expanded the list of targets inside Russia and that Russian forces are now carrying out retribution for that. [ 2 ]
- Peskov was commenting on Volodymyr Zelensky’s October 3 statement that Kyiv intends to increase the intensity of strikes on Russian oil refineries. [ 2 ]
- Zelensky said Ukraine would continue striking energy infrastructure, but not civilians, and cited what he said was a change in Russian air attack tactics. [ 2 ]
- Russia’s Defence Ministry said on October 4 that it would intensify strikes on military and military-industrial facilities in Ukraine after Zelensky’s statement. [ 2 ]
- Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on October 2 that four Russian refineries had been attacked in a single night; the plants’ technological equipment was not damaged and damage was being assessed at one of them. [ 2 ]
- On September 14 the Kremlin welcomed US President Donald Trump’s call for Kyiv to stop strikes on Russian refineries, after Vladimir Putin said he had ordered strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities in response to attacks on Russian refineries. [ 2 ]
Confirmed by several sources
Still unclear
- Whether any Russian refinery equipment was damaged in the attacks described by Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak. Only one outlet reports this, and it says the plants’ technological equipment was not damaged while damage was still being assessed at one refinery; no figure or outcome is given.
- Whether Russia has carried out the intensified strikes on Ukrainian military and military-industrial facilities that its Defence Ministry announced. The announced intention is reported by a single outlet; the documents contain no report of results or of strikes after that announcement.
What local media are saying
Official sourcesThe state outlet led on Peskov’s statement, framing it as a demand that Ukraine pay for strikes on facilities of the civilian economy. It carried the Kremlin position without the surrounding chronology.
[
1
]
Business mediaThe business outlet carried the same Peskov remarks with his direct quote about retribution and added the sequence behind them: Zelensky’s October 3 pledge to strike refineries more intensively, the Defence Ministry’s October 4 announcement, Novak’s October 2 account of attacks on four refineries, and the Kremlin’s September 14 welcome of Trump’s call to halt such strikes.
[
2
]
Timeline, local time
- The Kremlin welcomes US President Donald Trump’s call for Kyiv to stop strikes on Russian refineries; Putin had earlier said he ordered strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities in response to attacks on Russian refineries. [ 2 ]
- Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak reports attempts to attack four Russian refineries in one night, saying technological equipment was not damaged and damage was being assessed at one plant. [ 2 ]
- Volodymyr Zelensky says Kyiv intends to increase the intensity of strikes on Russian oil refineries, citing a change in Russian air attack tactics, and says Ukraine will not target civilians. [ 2 ]
- Russia’s Defence Ministry announces it will intensify strikes on military and military-industrial facilities in Ukraine. [ 2 ]
- RIA Novosti publishes Peskov’s statement that Ukraine must pay for strikes on civilian economy facilities. [ 1 ]
- Vedomosti publishes Peskov’s remarks in full, including his quote that Russian forces are engaged in retribution. [ 2 ]