KYIV(National Times)- Ukraine hit two Russian oil refineries in the regions of Krasnodar and Yaroslavl overnight, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday, as Kyiv ramps up pressure on Russia\u2019s fuel supply with its drone fleet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kyiv\u2019s increasingly frequent drone attacks have caused fuel shortages in parts of Russia, one of the world\u2019s biggest oil producers, with queues and rationing seen at petrol stations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe continue our operations that weaken Russia\u2019s ability to wage this war,\u201d Zelensky wrote on social media, adding that the refineries were about 300km and 700km from Ukrainian territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A drone strike hit the private Slavyansk oil refinery, which has a capacity of 100,000 barrels per day. Governor of Krasnodar region Veniamin Kondratiev confirmed the strike sparked a major fire, resulting in one fatality and another injury in a nearby village.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following the aerial attack, Yaroslavl region, east of Moscow, faced disruptions as local authorities placed temporary transit limits on certain road routes leading to the Russian capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These operations follow a separate large-scale att\u00adack last week that caused a major fire at a refinery southeast of Moscow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kyiv\u2019s intensifying campaign against Russian logistics and energy infrastructure has triggered acute fuel shortages, rati\u00adoning, and power cuts in parts of southern Russia and Russian-annexed Cri\u00admea, which recently decl\u00adared an \u201cemergency situation\u201d to handle the fallout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kyiv maintains these retaliatory strikes are retribution for Moscow\u2019s near-daily bombardments of Ukrainian civilians and energy facilities since the February 2022 invasion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Putin calls it \u2018a difficult period\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Russian President Vladi\u00admir Putin admitted on Sun\u00adday that Russia was going through a difficult period, but that it taught the country much, state news agency TASS<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He was speaking at the conference of the ruling United Russia party, ahead of parliamentary elections due for September.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While acknowledging the infrastructure vulnerabilities and labeling the strikes \u201cterrorist attacks\u201d, Putin vowed to overcome the challenges. \u201cWe will certainly ensure the security of both the country and our citizens, as well as the inviolability of Russia\u2019s borders,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the battlefield, the Ukrainian military said a ballistic missile attack was underway in Kyiv early Sunday morning. \u201cAir defence forces are operating in the capital. Remain in shelters,\u201d Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram.<\/p>\n\n\n\n AFP<\/em> journalists heard explosions and saw several flashes in the sky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Russian strikes a day earlier in Dnipropetrovsk in central-eastern Ukraine and the northern Sumy region killed two people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Russia\u2019s Defence Mini\u00adstry reported territorial advances on Sunday. Acco\u00adrding to the state news agency TASS,<\/em> Russ\u00adian forces have captured two more southeastern villages: Pysantsi in the Dnip\u00adropetrovsk region and Novo\u00adselivka in the neighbouring Zaporizhzhia region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It also comes after Ukraine launched attacks on Volgograd and Belgorod in Russia\u2019s southwest, and Horlivka, in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, which is controlled by Moscow. Three people were killed in the attacks, regional authorities said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" KYIV(National Times)- Ukraine hit two Russian oil refineries in the regions of Krasnodar and Yaroslavl overnight, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday, as Kyiv ramps up pressure on Russia\u2019s fuel supply with its drone fleet. Kyiv\u2019s increasingly frequent drone attacks have caused fuel shortages in parts of Russia, one of the world\u2019s biggest oil producers, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":128454,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-128453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n