Kremlin: Zelensky obstructs American efforts to move towards peace

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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Thursday that the persistent efforts made by the United States and American negotiators to advance the peace process are clashing with the refusal of Kiev and Vladimir Zelensky personally to move towards peace.

Peskov told reporters: “The Ukrainian Kiev regime continues to launch strikes on these energy facilities, which undoubtedly seriously contradicts the peace efforts made by the United States and the American negotiators, who are already very actively seeking to launch a path that advances the peace process.”

The Kremlin spokesman stressed that "these tireless efforts have so far clashed with the refusal of the Kiev regime and Zelensky personally to move towards peace."

On October 12, the American magazine Newsweek revealed four potential candidates to succeed Zelensky, most notably the former commander of the Ukrainian army, Valery Zalughny, former intelligence chief Kirill Budanov, former Defense Minister Mikhail Fyodorov, and former President Pyotr Poroshenko, following US President Donald Trump’s call for elections in Ukraine.

Media reports reported escalating disputes between Washington and Kiev, amid American threats to stop supplies of weapons and intelligence information, and Trump’s dissatisfaction with the continued Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries.

The Russian authorities reported that a Ukrainian attack with drones and missiles targeted an oil refinery in the Russian region of Ryazan, southeast of Moscow, on Thursday, causing a fire to break out.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said in a statement, “The Kiev regime attempted to launch a large-scale attack on the Ryazan oil refinery... and fragments of drones falling on the site of the refinery caused a fire.”

Officials in Moscow and Kiev said on Thursday that Ukraine launched a missile and drone attack on a Russian oil refinery.

The strikes came hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the end of a short truce to protect energy infrastructure, which Moscow had rejected, in light of escalating tensions with Washington.

The governor of Ryazan Province, Pavel Malikov, said that the attack caused a fire at the refinery, which is located about 300 kilometers (180 miles) southeast of Moscow.

The ministry stated that air defenses shot down four Ukrainian "Flamingo" missiles and 69 drones that targeted the refinery.

The Russian news website Astra published what it said was a photo of the fire.

A high-ranking Ukrainian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that Ukraine targeted the Ryazan refinery during an attack that occurred during the night.

The Ukrainian Air Force said that Ukrainian air defenses shot down 536 Russian drones during a massive attack overnight.

For its part, the Russian Ministry of Defense said that air defenses shot down 166 Ukrainian drones during the night.

The ministry added that its forces hit two ships carrying military cargo.