WASHINGTON — Russian President Vladimir Putin has privately warned US officials that Moscow plans to intensify its attacks on Ukraine after a wave of Ukrainian drone strikes hit nearly all of Russia’s oil refineries, The Post has learned.
The warning raises the prospect of another punishing winter for Ukrainians, who have already endured Russia’s sustained campaign against the country’s power grid during the nearly five-year war.
“Putin is now going to hit [Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky] hard, and he’s told us he’s going to,” a US official told The Post.
According to the official, the Russian leader’s message was blunt: “Now it’s our turn, and we’re going at them.”
President Trump has pressed Ukraine to stop targeting Russia’s energy infrastructure, arguing that the high-impact strikes have helped send diesel fuel prices sharply higher.
Zelensky has rejected calls for restraint. This week, Ukraine launched what Russian authorities described as its largest drone assault to date, striking Moscow’s main oil refinery during what officials called the “most massive” attack on the capital.
The US official said hawkish figures inside Ukraine had “carried the day” in pushing forward with increasingly ambitious attacks against targets deep inside Russia.
“And now [Putin] is going to fire back, and that can’t be stopped,” the official said.
Even so, the official maintained that Putin and Zelensky may be “closer than people think” to ending the conflict.
“It’s just that when they send these big bombs in there and they take out refineries, everyone says … ‘Here we go again,’” the official said.
The biggest barrier to a peace agreement remains Putin’s territorial demands. The former KGB officer is seeking to complete Russia’s conquest of Donetsk province, where Ukraine has heavily fortified towns in the north.
“The territory” is Putin’s central sticking point, the US official said. “That’s really the issue.”
Ukrainian forces have targeted every major Russian oil refinery this year, along with numerous smaller facilities. Kyiv says the campaign is designed to reduce Kremlin revenue, weaken Russia’s war machine and increase pressure for negotiations.
The campaign reportedly damaged 27 of Russia’s 32 largest refineries, producing an estimated $20 billion in losses and helping drive global diesel prices to nearly twice their previous levels.
Many Ukrainians are bracing for the fighting to continue through a punishing winter. Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal said Russia is preparing to target Kyiv’s energy infrastructure during the colder months, according to the Kyiv Post.
Ukrainian officials and allied representatives told The Post on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly that the conflict could take a sharp turn for the worse as freezing weather approaches.
Zelensky, however, told world leaders that Ukraine would not surrender.
“Ukrainians understand that this winter could be very harsh for us. But in response, we will have no choice but to make it painful for Russia too,” Zelensky said in an address to the UN General Assembly.
Trump met with Zelensky in New York this week and offered continued support by approving a license allowing Ukraine to obtain Patriot missile defense systems. The weapons, however, will take time to produce.
Diplomatic efforts continued alongside the escalating attacks. Special envoy Steve Witkoff dined with Ukrainian officials and met with Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev, alongside Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also huddled with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Rubio said Russia and Ukraine have expressed an interest in a limited ceasefire involving grain and energy targets.
“Obviously, that won’t be easy either,” Rubio said.
Trump has repeatedly attributed the impasse to “hatred” between Putin and Zelensky— after alternatively blasting both men in an attempt to pressure them into a deal.
“It’s time to stop the killing,” Trump told the UN General Assembly.
How exactly the war may end without Putin seizing the land he desires is uncertain, though Ukraine has dramatically ramped up its offensive capabilities, with refinery targets as distant as Siberia.
Ukraine’s defense has come at a steep cost. The already poor nation has lost a significant part of its population to emigration and war deaths, even if casualties inflicted on invading Russians are believed to be higher.
“They’re valiant and courageous,” the US official said. “[But] the demographics are not on their side.”
