Kushner demanded 30-day pause in strikes on Russian refineries from Zelensky

Pressure on Kyiv to halt strikes on oil infrastructure

On 20 October, a meeting took place in Oslo between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US special envoy Jared Kushner, who is the son-in-law of American leader Donald Trump. Due to his health condition, Kushner joined the discussion remotely. One source told the WSJ that the conversation was "very harsh". ("very harsh")

According to a source for the publication, Kushner insisted on the need to suspend attacks on Russian oil refineries. He claimed that, together with another US special envoy, Steve Witkoff, he was spending significant resources, time, and aviation fuel on conducting negotiations with Moscow. Therefore, in his view, Kyiv should express gratitude by making a 30-day pause in strikes on these facilities.

Link to the Starlink issue and Musk's reaction

The day after the meeting in Oslo, Donald Trump called Elon Musk and asked him to restore the operation of the Starlink satellite communication system for Ukraine. US officials officially denied that these two issues — the functioning of Starlink and strikes on Russian refineries — were interconnected.

However, Ukrainian and European representatives describe the situation differently. According to one European official, Kyiv was being pushed to stop attacks on oil refineries until the completion of the mid-term elections in the US.

Concern in Europe and assessment by the Ukrainian side

Some European supporters of Ukraine are expressing growing anxiety over the escalation of rhetoric between Trump and Zelensky, as well as over disruptions in the operation of Starlink. One Ukrainian military official told the WSJ that Ukraine urgently needed help from the White House to restore satellite communications.

In his words, "Starlink and oil refineries have become two parts of one story". ("Starlink and oil refineries have become two parts of one story")