Ukraine will intensify strikes on Russian oil refineries after Moscow adopted a new doctrine of airstrikes on civilian infrastructure, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said. He said Ukraine will target the revenue funding Russia's war but will not strike civilian objects.
Ukraine will double down on attacking Russian oil refineries after Ukrainian intelligence obtained documents showing President Vladimir Putin had ordered a broader range of strikes on civilian targets ahead of winter, Zelenskiy said. He said the documents show Russia now permits attacks on infrastructure, logistics, roads, schools and hospitals to pressure residents to leave Kyiv and other cities.
Zelenskiy said Putin's shift was driven by a desire to appear strong at a time when Russian forces were losing ground on a key front and taking higher casualties. The Russian Foreign Ministry, in a statement urging foreign nationals to leave Kyiv, said Moscow would keep hitting targets it describes as retaliation for Ukrainian strikes on Russia in recent months. Both sides deny deliberately targeting civilians.
Ukraine says it will hit refineries, not civilians
According to Reuters: "With their attacks on our energy, we have to respond on their energy," Zelenskiy said, naming oil refiners as a priority target because they fund the war. He added that Ukraine would not respond in kind against civilian infrastructure.
Over the past week, Kyiv has faced persistent Russian drone and missile strikes on energy and telecoms assets and on road and rail links, and for the first time Russia targeted bridges across the Dnipro river connecting eastern and western Kyiv. Zelenskiy also said an ongoing counteroffensive codenamed "Vivaldi" had recaptured around 140 square kilometers (54 square miles) of the Donbas region, territory Russia has said it must control entirely as a condition for any peace deal.
No sign of peace talks interest from Moscow
The US has pushed to revive talks to end the war, and President Donald Trump last month urged Ukraine to stop hitting Russian oil installations, arguing the strikes were sending global diesel prices surging. But Zelenskiy said he has received no indication that Putin is interested in peace talks or in a ceasefire covering energy infrastructure.
He said he would be willing to meet Putin for talks at a planned G20 summit in Miami in December, but warned Washington against normalizing relations with Russia before a return to peace. While the US has proposed resuming trilateral talks in the UAE in the coming weeks, Zelenskiy said no date or location has been set.
Source: All News
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