Ukraine Says Precision Strikes Cut Russia’s Gasoline by 20 Percent
(MENAFN) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has claimed that recent precision strikes on Russian infrastructure have cut the country’s gasoline supply by as much as 20%, citing preliminary assessments from Ukrainian intelligence.
“We need to check, but we believe they lost up to 20% of their gasoline supply. It was after our strikes,” Zelenskyy told journalists in comments published Thursday by local media outlets.
He pointed to an uptick in Russian fuel imports from Belarus and China as evidence of the disruption. According to Zelenskyy, the attacks used domestically developed Neptune and Flamingo cruise missiles over the past week, though he declined to disclose the number launched.
The statement comes amid a sharp escalation in cross-border attacks on energy infrastructure, as both Moscow and Kyiv accuse each other of targeting vital fuel systems ahead of winter. Diplomatic negotiations to end the war remain stalled.
Earlier Thursday, Ukraine’s General Staff announced via Telegram that it struck a gas processing plant and an oil pumping station in Russia’s southern Volgograd region overnight, reporting explosions and subsequent fires at both facilities.
Volgograd Governor Andrey Bocharov confirmed blazes at local fuel and energy sites but did not provide further specifics.
The Russian Defense Ministry stated that its air defense systems intercepted 19 Ukrainian drones overnight, with nine shot down over the Volgograd area.
In response to previous concerns over domestic fuel availability, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov asserted in August that Russia’s market is “fully supplied.”
On the battlefield, Zelenskyy claimed Ukrainian forces had successfully disrupted Russian military momentum near Dobropillia in the eastern Donetsk region.
He added that Kyiv believes its counteroffensive blocked Moscow’s plan to seize most of the Donbas region by November, a goal Ukraine alleges Russia communicated to the U.S. during prior negotiations.
Touching on diplomatic tensions, Zelenskyy said Ukraine perceives a fundamental rift between Washington and Moscow on how the war should end. “Russia and the US currently do not have a ‘common vision’ on the end of the war,” he said, adding, “Washington understands that Russia is lying.”
Regarding potential arms supplies, Zelenskyy disclosed that former President Donald Trump “did not refuse such a possibility” when asked about providing Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine during a meeting on the sidelines of the 80th UN General Assembly last month in New York.
He also confirmed ongoing negotiations with Russia over prisoner exchanges but warned of possible manipulation by Moscow. “Provocations” are being prepared, he said, aimed at “pressuring Kyiv.”
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