Zelenskyy Sets Goal of 1,000 Daily Drone Strikes Against Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for the frequency of long range drone strikes against Russia to increase to 1,000 drones per day. In an evening video address, Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine currently averages over 300 such strikes daily and emphasized that this number must grow. He described the goal as specific and linked the intensification of these attacks to Russia's own aerial strikes against Ukrainian cities.

Zelenskyy noted that attacks on Russian oil refineries, logistics centers, and military targets have already increased the costs of the war for Moscow. He claimed that Russia is experiencing reduced gasoline supplies, fewer exports, and diminished logistics capacities. Specifically, he asserted that Russia is importing gasoline and using budget funds to support its oil companies for the first time in its history. Recent strikes reported by Ukrainian officials include attacks on the Slavneft-YANOS refinery in the Yaroslavl region and the Lukoil-Nizhegorodorgsintez refinery in the Nizhny Novgorod region.

Zelenskyy stated that these losses will increase if Russia is not ready to negotiate a rational end to the war. He also mentioned the goal of blocking Russian ports, noting that the port of Novorossijsk has already been hampered. In response, Russian President Vladimir Putin has acknowledged economic damage but described it as non critical, while threatening attacks that would cause more destruction than those launched by Ukraine.

Additional developments include Zelenskyy thanking the United States for the tone of recent talks between CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Russian officials in Moscow. Meanwhile, a Russian drone attack in a suburb of Kyiv caused a large fire and explosions on Friday, resulting in at least six injuries and the evacuation of over 200 people.