President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the creation of a new 'long-range impact' command within Ukraine's armed forces on Friday, intensifying Kyiv's campaign against Russian energy infrastructure. The initiative aims to reduce Russia's ability to wage war by targeting its energy sector, which funds Moscow's state budget.
New command targets Russian war capacity
In a Friday night address, Zelenskyy said: 'Today, I signed a decree establishing a special command within the armed forces – a command aimed at a long-range and, in effect, global impact on Russia in response to this war. This command must focus 100% of available resources on further reducing Russia's capacity to wage war.' The announcement comes as Ukraine continues drone strikes on Russian oil refineries and shipping.
Strikes on Russian oil infrastructure
Ukraine's general staff reported that on the same day, Ukrainian forces struck the Ilsky oil refinery in the Krasnodar region, one of Russia's largest southern refineries, and the Ust-Luga oil refining complex in the Leningrad region. An oil terminal and depot in the Rostov region were also hit. These attacks are part of a broader campaign to damage Russia's energy sector and its 'shadow fleet' of tankers.
Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine's drone forces, said Ukraine has attacked 10 tankers in the Sea of Azov, among almost 50 fuel vessels damaged in the last five days. The strikes have forced Russia to temporarily halt shipping through the Don-Azov Channel, a key waterway linking the Don River with the Sea of Azov. Three grain export industry sources told Reuters on Friday that up to one-quarter of Russia's wheat exports pass through the inland sea, and Russia's border guards notified shipping companies that passage through the Kerch Strait would not be accepted from 6:10pm local time.
Russian strikes on Kyiv and Kramatorsk
Russia retaliated with missile strikes on Kyiv on Saturday, wounding six people, according to Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv's military administration. 'The number of injured in the capital has risen to six,' Tkachenko wrote on Telegram, adding that three were treated in hospital and three at the scene. He confirmed Russia was 'attacking the capital with missiles' and urged residents to seek shelter.
In eastern Ukraine, Russian forces dropped seven aerial bombs on Kramatorsk on Friday, killing four people including a teenager, regional governor Vadym Filashkin said on Telegram. At least nine more were injured, and a residential block, shop, and private houses were damaged. Filashkin accused Russia of deliberately targeting civilians.
US senator calls for Chinese pressure on Russia
US Senator Lindsey Graham, visiting Kyiv for the 10th time, said China could play a decisive role in pressuring Russia to begin peace talks. 'The road to ending this war, the road to peace, passes through Beijing more than it does [through] Washington, Kyiv, or Moscow. China has an oversized influence. I'd like them to use their influence for the good of the world,' Graham told reporters at Mykhailivska Square. He met President Zelenskyy to discuss Ukraine's air defence needs and the Russian sanctions bill.
Graham, along with Senators Richard Blumenthal, Jeanne Shaheen, and Roger Wicker, announced they had reached agreement with the Trump administration on updated Russia sanctions legislation. 'We are very pleased with this significant progress and expect to roll out the legislation very soon,' the senators said in a statement. The bill would impose sanctions on countries doing business with Russia, including buyers of its energy exports, over Moscow's failure to negotiate a peace deal with Ukraine.
Corruption case at Energoatom
Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) formally designated a former official at state nuclear company Energoatom as a suspect on Friday, in the biggest wartime corruption case in the energy sector. NABU said the unnamed official, responsible for physical protection and security at Energoatom facilities, is suspected of laundering more than 30m hryvnias ($674,000) from 2023 to 2025. The so-called Midas case, involving a $100m kickback scheme, has engulfed figures close to President Zelenskyy and raised concerns among western allies about Ukraine's ability to tackle high-level corruption.
