The Daily Populous Tuesday June 17th, 2025 morning edition
Authored by kyivinsider.com and submitted by IlustriousCoffee

The statement marked the first direct confirmation from Ukraine’s head of state that the country’s Western allies, particularly the United States, have placed restrictions on targeting Russia’s energy sector—despite the fact that Russia has made Ukrainian energy infrastructure a central focus of its wartime campaign.

Hours later, Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko reinforced the message in a statement of her own.

“Some allies have asked us not to strike Russian energy infrastructure—even as Russia wages all-out war on ours: targeting power plants, oil and gas infrastructure, hydroelectric dams—every form of energy we rely upon.”

The comments provide the clearest public evidence to date that Kyiv has been operating under external pressure to avoid actions that could destabilize global energy markets, even as its own grid, heating infrastructure, and fuel reserves face repeated attacks.

According to Ukrainian officials and several open-source intelligence assessments, Kyiv paused strikes on Russian refineries for roughly 45 days in the lead-up to the 2024 U.S. presidential election, resuming them on election night. The timing, while not officially acknowledged, suggests a political calculus: to avoid complicating the U.S. domestic environment while continuing a campaign that Ukraine sees as vital to weakening Russia’s war effort.

Western concern over the potential economic fallout of sustained attacks on Russian oil facilities—particularly regarding global fuel prices—has long shaped the informal boundaries of the conflict. But the public confirmation of these limits, especially in the face of continued Russian strikes on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, raises difficult questions about proportionality, deterrence, and the sustainability of long-term support.

President Zelensky argued that the war “would have ended long ago” had the international community responded with firmer action, including stronger sanctions and enforcement of a meaningful oil price cap.

Svyrydenko echoed that view, describing the Russian oil sector as the financial backbone of both the current invasion and future military aggression.

While U.S. officials have not commented on the latest remarks, the growing divergence between Ukraine’s strategic imperatives and Western caution highlights a tension at the heart of the alliance: how to support Ukraine’s self-defense while managing the global consequences of escalation.

For Ukraine, the case appears increasingly clear. To reduce Russia’s ability to wage war, it must target the resources that finance it. And until that is allowed without constraint, officials suggest, Moscow will remain confident it can act without meaningful economic consequence.

ProductGuy48 on June 16th, 2025 at 22:06 UTC »

Ukraine should hit them anyway

theclovek on June 16th, 2025 at 22:04 UTC »

How pathetic you have to be, that the country you blame for all the evil in the world has to protect your assets, so that the country you are currently invading, does not cause you too much damage.

hippest on June 16th, 2025 at 21:53 UTC »

Ladies and gentlemen, a round of boos please for the one and only Agent Krasnov!