Ukraine has established a new military command focused on long-range strikes against Russian energy infrastructure, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced in a Friday night address. The command aims to reduce Russia's ability to wage war by targeting its energy sector, which funds a significant portion of Moscow's state budget.
New Command Targets Russian Energy
Zelenskyy signed a decree creating the command within the armed forces, stating it must focus 100% of available resources on damaging Russia's war capacity. This initiative comes as Ukraine intensifies drone attacks on Russian oil refineries and fuel depots, including strikes on the Ilsky oil refinery in Krasnodar region and the Ust-Luga oil refining complex in Leningrad region, according to Ukraine's general staff. An oil terminal and depot in Rostov region were also hit.
Impact on Russian Shipping and Exports
Ukraine's drone forces commander Robert Brovdi reported that attacks have damaged Moscow's 'shadow fleet,' hitting 10 tankers in the Sea of Azov among almost 50 fuel vessels damaged in the last five days. Russia has temporarily stopped 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. Up to one-quarter of Russia's wheat exports pass through the inland sea. Russia's border guards notified shipping companies that passage requests through the Kerch Strait would not be accepted from 6:10pm local time on Friday, with no specified end date.
Russian Strikes on Kyiv
Russian missile strikes on Kyiv on Saturday wounded six people, Ukraine said. Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv's military administration, wrote on Telegram that three people were treated in hospital and three at the scene. He urged residents to seek shelter as Russia attacked the capital with missiles.
US Senator Urges China's Role
US Senator Lindsey Graham said China could play a decisive role in pressuring Russia to begin peace talks. Graham, meeting Zelenskyy in Kyiv, stated that bolstering Ukraine's military capabilities and aligning sanctions with diplomacy could force Moscow into talks. 'The road to ending this war passes through Beijing more than it does Washington, Kyiv, or Moscow,' Graham told reporters. He was among four US senators who reached agreement with the Trump administration to advance updated Russia sanctions legislation, which would impose sanctions on countries doing business with Russia, including buyers of its energy exports, over Moscow's failure to negotiate a peace deal.
Civilian Casualties in Kramatorsk
Russian forces dropped seven aerial bombs on Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine on Friday, killing four people including a teenager and injuring at least nine, regional governor Vadym Filashkin said on Telegram. A residential block, a shop, and private houses were damaged, with photos showing flats on fire.
Corruption Case at Energoatom
A former official at Ukraine's state nuclear company Energoatom has been designated a suspect in a major wartime corruption case. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) said the unnamed official is suspected of laundering more than 30m hryvnias ($674,000) from 2023 to 2025. The so-called Midas case involves an alleged $100m kickback scheme at Energoatom, implicating figures close to Zelenskyy and casting a shadow over Ukraine's government as it seeks to demonstrate anti-corruption efforts to western allies.
