Kaja Kallas defends Ukraine’s right to strike Russian refineries, which she says are helping finance the invasion

European foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told Euronews in an interview that Ukraine has the right, under international law, to strike Russian refineries because the revenues they generate contribute to financing the invasion. The European official argued that Russia is the aggressor, while Ukraine is in a position to defend itself.

The statements came after Donald Trump announced an agreement on the delivery of more than 300,000 tons of diesel fuel from Russia and a possible truce concerning energy infrastructure. Volodymyr Zelensky, however, says that Moscow continued attacks on Ukrainian targets and caused civilian casualties. Consequently, Kyiv resumed operations against Russian refineries.

Zelensky accused the US administration of putting pressure on Ukraine and suspending intelligence sharing and Starlink services in order to stop the attacks. These claims have not been independently confirmed.

According to data from the International Energy Agency, cited by Euronews, only five of Russia’s 32 large refineries had not been targeted by the end of August. The Kremlin claims that the limits of any potential energy truce have not been clearly established.