WASHINGTON — Russian President Vladimir Putin privately informed US officials he intends to escalate his attacks on Ukraine following stunning drone attacks on nearly all of Russia’s oil refineries, The Post has learned.
Putin’s ominous remarks could mean a bleak winter for war-ravaged Ukrainians after the tyrant’s ruthless assault on electrical infrastructure earlier in the nearly five-year conflict.
“Putin is now going to hit [Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky] hard, and he’s told us he’s going to,” an American official told The Post.
The Russian leader conveyed to American officials that “now it’s our turn, and we’re going at them.”
President Trump has urged Ukraine to halt its attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure, blaming the shock-and-awe offensive for skyrocketing diesel fuel prices.
Zelensky hasn’t heeded Trump’s call for restraint and unleashed the largest-ever drone attack this week, with Russian officials reporting the “most massive” attack yet on Moscow, hitting the city’s main oil refinery.
The US official told The Post that “hawks” within Ukraine have “carried the day” in pursuing ambitious targets within Russia.
“And now [Putin] is going to fire back, and that can’t be stopped.”
Still, the official said Putin and Zelensky are “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.’”
Putin’s lust for land remains the largest obstacle to a peace settlement, with the former KGB agent seeking to complete his conquest of the Donetsk province, whose northern towns are heavily fortified by Ukraine.
”The territory” is the primary point of resistance for Putin, the US official said. “That’s really the issue.”
Ukrainian attacks have struck all of Russia’s main oil refineries this year, as well as many mid-sized facilities, in an effort to sap the Russian war machine of revenue and pressure the Kremlin to make peace.
Kyiv’s campaign reportedly damaged 27 of the 32 largest refineries in Russia, causing an estimated $20 billion in damage and contributing to a near-doubling in global diesel prices.
Ukrainians expect the war will drag on into a brutal winter. Energy minister Denys Shmyhal said that Russia is planning to knock out Kyiv’s energy systems during the winter, the Kyiv Post reported.
On the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, Ukrainian officials and their allies told The Post the war is about to get much worse as freezing temperatures approach.
But Zelensky told world leaders he doesn’t intend to give up.
“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 told the UN General Assembly.
Trump met with Zelensky in New York this week and agreed to extend a lifeline by allowing Ukraine the license for Patriot missile defense systems, but the new capabilities will take some time to manufacture.
Peace efforts continued on the sidelines, with special envoy Steve Witkoff having dinner with Ukrainian officials and meeting with Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev along with 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.”
