Ukraine strikes cause Russian fuel shortages: Zelenskiy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that the attacks of Ukraine’s newly developed long-range missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles on Russia’s oil facilities caused a serious gas shortage in Russia.
The leader said a recent Ukrainian counteroffensive on the battlefield had derailed Russia’s plans to capture parts of the eastern Donetsk region.
Ukraine’s new Palianytsia missile hit dozens of Russian military depots, Zelenskiy said on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Ruta missile drone recently hit a Russian offshore oil platform more than 250 kilometers away; this was something Zelenskiy called a “huge success” for the new weapon.
Additionally, the Ukrainian leader said that swarms of Liutyi and Fire Point long-range drones (up to 300 units in a single operation) have hit Russian energy facilities, and that Ukrainian forces have recently fired Neptune and Flamingo missile systems at Russia.
Speaking at a news briefing that is embargoed until Thursday, Zelenskiy said Russia’s fuel shortages and rising imports showed Ukraine’s attacks were working.
“The main thing is that (Russia) is now importing gasoline; this is a signal,” he said.
Ukrainian intelligence reports show that Russia increased its imports from Belarus sixfold, abolished import duties, and also brought fuel from China.
“According to our data, they lost up to 20 percent of their gasoline supply precisely after our attacks,” Zelenskiy said. he said.
Russian officials have not made any public comments about possible gas cuts.
At a time when Moscow is deploying its larger army and economic resources to crush its neighbor, the successes achieved with Ukrainian-designed and produced weapons are a welcome development for Kiev, which has been fighting against Russian occupation for more than three years.
Ukraine received military aid from the West but was frustrated by restrictions imposed by the United States and its European allies on deep strikes against Russia for fear of escalating the war.
Ukraine has invested heavily in weapons development and is rapidly becoming a global hub for defense innovation.
Zelenskiy said he wanted the United States to supply Ukraine with additional long-range weapons, specifically named American-made Tomahawk missiles that can carry large warheads but which Washington had previously refused to supply.
US President Donald Trump, whose efforts to end the war have been frustrated by Russian objections, said this week that he had “sort of decided” whether to send Tomahawks to Ukraine.
“I did not hear ‘no’ at the last meeting,” Zelenskiy said about the Tomahawk request, adding that US officials agreed to work on the problem at a technical level.
A delegation led by Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko will travel to the United States early next week to discuss air defense, energy cooperation, sanctions and the use of frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine’s war effort.
On the battlefield, Zelenskiy said the most intense fighting remained around Pokrovsk and Dobropillia in the eastern Donetsk region, where Ukrainian troops launched a counter-offensive operation that he described as “very difficult, but very timely and successful.”
“This operation derailed Russia’s summer offensive campaign,” he said, adding that Moscow had said its plan to occupy most of the Donetsk region by November had failed.
Zelenskiy also said Ukraine has contingency plans to protect its natural gas infrastructure, which has been the target of intense Russian attacks in recent weeks as winter approaches.
