Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy exhorted Kyiv’s allies to maintain pressure on Russia to end the war in Ukraine in parallel with the international efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East.
“Moscow allows itself to escalate its strikes, openly exploiting the fact that the world is focused on ensuring peace in the Middle East,” Zelenskyy said in a social media post on Sunday. He called for “no weakening of pressure” through “sanctions, tariffs and joint actions against the buyers of Russian oil.”
“The world can guarantee this in parallel with the peace process in the Middle East,” Zelenskyy wrote. He said that on Saturday “a child was killed in a church by an aerial bomb” in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kostiantynivka, in Donetsk Oblast.
Russia’s defense ministry confirmed on Sunday that Moscow’s forces had struck Ukrainian energy infrastructure facilities that the Kremlin considers part of the Ukrainian military complex, according to the RIA news agency.
Recently, Kyiv responded to Russian attacks by striking Russia’s Bashneft oil refinery in Ufa, located 1,300 kilometers east of Moscow, a person in Ukraine’s SBU security service told Reuters on Saturday.
On Sunday, the Financial Times reported that U.S. intelligence has for months been helping Ukraine strike energy facilities in Russian territory, citing Ukrainian and U.S. officials. This assistance has enabled Ukraine to target Russia’s critical energy infrastructure, driving up energy prices and forcing Russia to reduce its diesel exports, according to the FT report.
Meanwhile, efforts are under way to restore power in Kyiv, where 800,000 residents reportedly regained access to electricity on Saturday following Russia’s attacks.
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