Ukrainian forces struck oil facilities in Russia and occupied Ukraine, Ukrainian and Russian officials said Monday, as part of their campaign to impose economic costs on Moscow for the war. The strikes targeted key energy infrastructure, aiming to disrupt Russian logistics and revenue.
Abramovich's Mediation Role Confirmed
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that Roman Abramovich acted as a go-between for messages between Kyiv and Moscow. Zelenskyy told Sky News that the former owner of Premier League team Chelsea traveled to Kyiv with a message from Russian President Vladimir Putin. Abramovich brought the message that the Russians "want to understand what we are ready to do," and offered to take a reply to Putin.
Zelenskyy said his message was that he would meet Putin "any time" in any location other than Russia or Belarus, either bilaterally or with U.S. President Donald Trump and European leaders. However, he stressed that Ukraine would not surrender the Donbas region, currently partly occupied by Russia. "It was the key message. I said we will not leave and we will not go out from our territory," Zelenskyy stated.
Putin last week mentioned that a Russian businessman, whom he did not identify, traveled to Kyiv in the previous month and met Zelenskyy to hear his offer of a personal meeting. The Russian leader rejected the idea, saying he saw no point in it.
EU Proposes New Sanctions
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas announced that a new proposed round of sanctions against Russia includes 80 listings targeting Russia's "military industrial complex, human rights violators and propagandists." Speaking after a meeting of EU defense ministers Monday, Kallas noted that Western sanctions have already cost Moscow an estimated $1.2 to 1.5 trillion.
Details of the Drone Strikes
Russia's Defense Ministry reported that its forces shot down 310 Ukrainian drones overnight into Monday, including over the Moscow region, western and southwestern Russia, Russian-occupied Crimea, and the Black and Azov seas. Russia also targeted Ukraine with 155 drones, of which Ukrainian air defenses shot down or suppressed 124, according to the Ukrainian air force.
Ukraine's General Staff said Ukrainian forces struck Russia's Krasnodar Krai region overnight, hitting the Grushovaya oil transshipment base near Novorossiysk. This complex is one of the largest transshipment hubs in southern Russia for oil and petroleum products. Russian regional authorities confirmed that a Ukrainian drone sparked a fire at the facility, with no casualties reported. They stated that 130 rescue workers were involved in extinguishing the blaze, though the extent of damage was not disclosed.
Asked whether the Kremlin is worried about the fuel crisis in Crimea, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Energy Ministry and other agencies are working on measures to respond. "There are indeed certain problems at the moment," Peskov acknowledged. "Measures are being taken."
The Krasny Yar "linear production and dispatching station" in the Volgograd region was also hit, according to the General Staff, sparking a fire. Russian Governor Andrei Bocharov did not specify the facility's output but confirmed no injuries.
Ukraine also struck the Semykolodezkaya oil base in Russian-occupied Crimea on Sunday night, igniting a fire. The base stores fuel reserves for the Russian military, the General Staff stated. Additionally, Ukrainian forces hit an oil depot near Feodosia in Crimea.
Civilian Casualties from Russian Drone Strikes
Two people were killed and at least 18 injured, including four children aged 5, 10, 12, and 13, by a Russian drone attack in the central Zaporizhzhia region. The attack damaged residential buildings and vehicles and destroyed market kiosks, said regional military administration head Ivan Fedorov.
In Nikopol, a Russian attack killed a 49-year-old woman and injured four others, according to the State Emergency Service. Four people were injured in the Dnipropetrovsk region when strikes hit residential buildings. In Odesa, three people were wounded after a Russian drone struck a public transport stop. Russian drone strikes overnight also injured civilians and damaged buildings and businesses in the Kharkiv, Odesa, and Chernihiv regions, regional authorities reported.
Meanwhile, a Ukrainian drone struck a passenger train traveling from Moscow to Simferopol in occupied Crimea early Monday, killing the driver's assistant and injuring the driver, according to Kremlin-installed regional leader Sergei Aksyonov. No passengers were hurt. All passenger train traffic in Crimea was halted following the attack, with passengers evacuated and replacement buses provided, Russian operator Grand Service Express reported.
