Ukraine keeps up long-range strikes on Russian export and oil facilities

Ukraine fired hundreds of drones towards Russia on Monday, targeting export and energy facilities as it continues its campaign to pressure Russia's war capabilities. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated on Facebook that “long-range sanctions” were effective in the Rostov region, hitting an export terminal approximately 250 kilometres from the front line. He added that deep strikes also targeted oil facilities in the Yaroslavl region and the Udmurt Republic, 1,300 kilometres from Ukraine's border.

Russian officials reported that five people were killed in the strikes on Rostov, including a child, and that buildings including an apartment block and warehouses were set ablaze. In the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, drones wounded 12 people, including two children, and set an apartment building on fire.

Ukraine has escalated its retaliatory strikes in recent months, partly to pressure Moscow to the negotiating table after nearly four and a half years of war. While Kyiv has hit towns as far as the Urals and Siberia, it has mostly damaged energy infrastructure, with deaths deep inside Russia being rare. According to Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces, drones struck 14 energy facilities in Russian-occupied Crimea over the past three days. The sustained strikes have caused significant power outages, fuel shortages, and disrupted ordinary life more than at any point during Moscow's offensive.

Meanwhile, Russian strikes across Ukraine killed at least nine people over the past day. In the Zaporizhzhia region, where Russian forces targeted 45 settlements near the front line, two people were killed and 13 injured. A 40-year-old woman was killed in Kharkiv, and a rare daytime attack hit a supermarket in Chernihiv, killing two people including a child. Ukraine's air force reported that Russia attacked overnight with 147 long-range strike drones; 123 were intercepted or jammed, while 21 inflicted damages at seven locations. According to the United Nations, last month was the deadliest for civilians in Ukraine since April 2022.