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Ukraine Strikes More Russia Oil Plants 08/06 06:34
Ukraine hit more oil facilities deep inside Russia in nighttime attacks,
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday, as Kyiv kept up its
campaign to undermine Moscow's wartime economy and embarrass the Kremlin.
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) -- Ukraine hit more oil facilities deep inside Russia in
nighttime attacks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday, as
Kyiv kept up its campaign to undermine Moscow's wartime economy and embarrass
the Kremlin.
The repeated strikes have caused fuel shortages and rattled Russians while
heartening Ukrainians who are enduring regular Russian barrages that Kyiv's
weakened air defenses are struggling to counter.
Ukrainian forces hit a refinery in Bashkortostan, more than 1,300 kilometers
(800 miles) behind the front line in eastern Ukraine, as well as a refinery in
the Yaroslavl region, almost 700 kilometers (400 miles) from the Ukrainian
border, Zelenskyy said on social media.
Also, Ukrainian forces hit two Russian military patrol boats in the Black
Sea, according to Zelenskyy, as well as vessels belonging to Moscow's so-called
shadow fleet, which Russia uses to evade Western restrictions on its oil
exports. He did not provide details about the vessels or the extent of the
damage.
The Russian Defense Ministry said Thursday that its air defenses overnight
shot down 605 Ukrainian drones over a number of Russian regions, as well as
illegally annexed Crimea and the Black and Azov seas.
Ukraine seeks more interceptor missiles to bolster air defenses
Meanwhile, Russian drone and glide bomb attacks across Ukraine during the
night killed at least three civilians and wounded 22 others, authorities said
Thursday, as countries helping Kyiv resist Russia's invasion scrambled to find
more vital air defenses for its fight.
Moscow's forces have in recent weeks pummeled Ukraine with ballistic
missiles that Kyiv officials say only the U.S.-made Patriot air defense system
can stop. But the Iran war has drained stocks of Patriot interceptor missiles,
leaving Ukraine at the mercy of Russian bombardments that seek to exploit its
weakened aerial defenses.
"We are working as hard as possible with all partners who can assist with
the supply of interceptor missiles to protect against such insane Russian
strikes targeting life, people, and civilian facilities," Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on social media late Wednesday after a Russian barrage
killed 17 people in the Kyiv region.
He said he had spoken to NATO chief Mark Rutte and Finnish President
Alexander Stubb about urgently procuring interceptors from stockpiles.
Zelenskyy said he and Rutte "coordinated our efforts regarding countries
that have the necessary missiles and the capacity to help."
"It is important to cut through all red tape and make the necessary
political decisions," Zelenskyy said.
"I am discussing with allies how we can continue to get Ukraine the air
defenses they urgently need," Rutte said on X.
Russian glide bombs wound 12 in Sumy region
Russia appears determined to exhaust Ukraine through sheer weight of numbers
in terms of soldiers, armor and weapons. Russian President Vladimir Putin
thinks that time is on his side, that Western support will fade and that
Ukraine's resistance will eventually collapse under pressure, Western analysts
and officials say.
Russia fired four missiles and 101 long-range strike drones at Ukraine from
Wednesday into Thursday, Ukraine's air force said, with air defenses shooting
down or jamming 66 drones.
Three people were killed in Balakliia in the northeastern Kharkiv region,
according to Vitalii Karabanov, head of the city's military administration.
A first strike hit a home, killing a woman and starting a fire, he said,
while a second strike near another home killed a man and a woman.
In the neighboring Sumy region, Russian glide bombs wounded 12 people, the
National Police said. Apartment buildings and infrastructure were damaged near
the impact sites, with hundreds of windows shattered, regional military
administration chief Oleh Hryhorov said.
In the southern Kherson region, a Russian drone struck a bus carrying
farmworkers to a field, wounding six people, regional authorities said.
A Russian drone also struck a residential area in the southeastern city of
Zaporizhzhia, wounding four people, regional administration head Ivan Fedorov
said.
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