On Saturday, Ukraine targeted a crucial oil distribution center supplying Moscow, marking the second attack this month. This action is part of a 40-day initiative aimed at pressing Russian leader Vladimir Putin to cease the ongoing conflict.
According to information released on Telegram by Ukraine’s military intelligence, drones exploded at the Vtorovo oil pumping station, located approximately 140 miles east of Moscow.
Ukraine’s Security Service stated, “Every facility impacted reduces resources available for war and increases the cost the Kremlin must bear for its continued aggression.”
The plant, operated by Transneft, Russia’s state-owned pipeline giant, distributes diesel to major oil depots around Moscow, servicing airports and export locations on the Baltic Sea. Ukrainian forces had previously struck this facility on June 10.
Additionally, Kyiv struck a vital artillery manufacturing facility in Volgograd overnight, a city situated 550 miles from Ukraine’s border, adding further pressure on Russia’s military capabilities.
Fire erupted at the Titan-Barrikady plant, after Ukraine unleashed its long-range “Flamingo” missiles.
“Every Russian defense facility that serves the war against Ukraine is a just target,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X Saturday.
“The reach of Ukraine’s long-range weapons continues to expand. And it is precisely our pressure, day after day, that lays the groundwork for a dignified peace in the end.”
The ramped-up strikes are part of a 40-day campaign launched by Zelensky this week, tapping Ukraine’s military intelligence to coordinate strikes deep inside the heart of Russia “compelling it to end the war.”
It comes as President Trump is reportedly reconsidering his understanding with Russian President Vladimir Putin following their Alaska summit last August that any peace deal would require Ukraine to cede its industrial Donbas region.
Meanwhile, Russia – which declared a state of emergency in occupied Crimea Friday following one of Ukraine’s heaviest drone attacks of the war caused widespread blackouts and fuel shortages – killed at least seven people and injured 89 others in Ukraine overnight into Saturday, regional authorities reported.
In Sumy, one person was killed and 14 wounded after at least three rocket drones hit apartments and houses.
“Russia attacked a residential sector of Sumy with a modified jet-powered drone aimed at civilian infrastructure,” slammed Gov. Oleh Hryhorov.
Russian drones also struck a minibus in the Dnipro region, killing two people and injuring at least 12 others, including two 12-year-old girls hospitalized with shrapnel wounds, Ukraine’s National Police reported on Telegram.
“Unfortunately, there are casualties from this terror almost every day,” Zelensky added on X Saturday.
“The Russians are using various types of weapons to strike people, ordinary residential buildings, and our civilian infrastructure.”
Russia launched a barrage of 129 Shahed-type drones overnight across Ukraine, according to Ukraine’s Air Force.
In the past week alone, Russia has pounded Ukraine with some 1,400 attack drones, nearly 1,500 guided aerial bombs and 19 missiles, Zelensky said.