The vow defies direct pressure from Washington. Reuters reports that US President Donald Trump's administration has sought to revive talks to end the four-year-old conflict, and last month Trump urged Ukraine to refrain from hitting Russian oil installations, saying the strikes were sending global diesel prices surging. Zelenskiy nonetheless framed refineries as legitimate targets because, he said, they are "what gives money to them for this war." The escalation also comes as Russia's forces are losing ground in a key frontline region, according to Zelenskiy, making the timing of a wider air war striking.

Zelenskiy said Ukrainian intelligence saw documents that "allow them to attack infrastructure, logistics, and especially to attack in the cities, in the villages, everywhere, roads, schools, hospitals," with the goal of pressuring people to leave the capital. Over the past week, Kyiv has come under persistent drone and missile attacks on energy and telecoms assets, and Russia targeted the Dnipro river bridges for the first time; the Guardian reports Saturday attacks killed at least six people and damaged Kyiv's Northern Bridge. Moscow denies deliberately targeting civilians, and the Kremlin was not available to comment, per Reuters.

The escalation centers on Ukraine's economy and energy grid heading into winter. Zelenskiy told Reuters that Operation Vivaldi had recaptured about 140 square km of the Donbas, a setback for Putin, who says Russia must control the region in full before any peace deal. Ukrainian officials warn Russia has stockpiled hundreds of ballistic missiles ahead of an expected onslaught on electricity and water infrastructure; last winter, the worst of the war, strikes left swathes of the country without power and heating for days. Both sides deny targeting civilians.