An exchange of drone strikes between Ukraine and Russia has left dead and wounded in Crimea, Poltava and Dnipropetrovsk, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stressed that Moscow understands only force, warning residents to exercise extreme caution over what he described as Russian preparations for an imminent large-scale offensive.
A Russia-appointed governor said 4 people were killed and 28 others wounded in a Ukrainian drone attack on Crimea. The authorities in Crimea immediately announced a suspension of fuel sales at petrol stations, restricting supplies to government services only.
Moscow-appointed Crimea governor Sergei Aksyonov announced that from 9:00 a.m. local time on Sunday, fuel would be available exclusively for essential services linked to the operation of vital utilities and Crimea's security.
3 people were also killed in Russian air strikes on the Poltava and Dnipropetrovsk regions of eastern Ukraine, according to local authorities. Oleksandr Hanza, head of the local military administration in Dnipropetrovsk region, wrote on Telegram: "One person was killed and nine others were wounded in shelling, drone attacks and artillery strikes on three districts of the region."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Russian forces had launched approximately 2,200 attack drones against Ukrainian territory within a single week.
Zelensky said: "In this week alone, Russia launched a total of approximately 2,200 attack drones, more than 1,800 guided aerial bombs, and 87 missiles of various types against Ukraine."
He noted that the day before yesterday Russian forces carried out air strikes that killed 5 people and wounded 26 others in Zaporizhzhia, while Russian shelling of Poltava killed 2 people and wounded 12 others, including 6 children.
Zelensky added that the Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Odesa, Sumy, Donetsk, Kirovohrad and Rivne regions had also come under bombardment, and that Ukrainian communities near the front lines and border areas were continuously subjected to drone attacks.
Zelensky affirmed that, despite these attacks, the G7 summit, the European Council and the meeting of the Ukrainian Defence Contact Group had produced tangible results and secured new contributions to strengthen Ukraine's defences.
Zelensky revealed that an oil depot in Crimea and an oil transfer facility in Russia's southern Krasnodar region were among the targets struck in Ukrainian attacks over the past several hours.
He described the strikes as part of Ukraine's long-term campaign of penalties against Russian energy infrastructure, saying: "Russia understands only force, and our long-term force is definitely working for peace."
Volodymyr Zelensky stated the day before yesterday that Russian forces were preparing to launch an imminent large-scale offensive against Ukraine, urging residents to exercise extreme caution.
Separately, Russia's Ministry of Defence announced in a statement that its forces had, during the night before last, targeted oil refineries, fuel depots and energy facilities supporting the Ukrainian army, in addition to achieving significant advances on the ground across all fronts in the area of the special military operation.
The statement said: "The operational-tactical aviation, attack drones, missile forces and artillery of the Russian Armed Forces targeted the infrastructure of military airfields, oil refineries, fuel and energy and transport infrastructure in Ukraine, fuel depots of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, logistics support centres, production and assembly centres for long-range drones and their storage sites.
In addition, temporary deployment positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and foreign mercenaries in 147 areas." The statement added that air defence systems shot down 8 guided bombs and 483 drones.
The ministry said that, in addition, Black Sea Fleet forces destroyed 4 Ukrainian Armed Forces unmanned speedboats in the south-western part of the Black Sea.
The ministry disclosed that, over the past 24 hours, Russian forces had seized control of 12 strongholds and cleared 53 buildings belonging to the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the city of Krasny Lyman in the Donetsk People's Republic.
The Ukrainian Air Force also announced in a statement that Ukrainian air defence forces had shot down 96 out of 105 drones launched by Russia during a nocturnal air attack on northern, southern, eastern and central Ukraine.
The statement said Russian forces had conducted an overnight air attack on Ukraine using 2 Iskander-M/S ballistic missiles launched from the Voronezh region, 2 Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missiles fired from above the Ryazan region, and 105 drones.