Ukraine’s strikes ignite fuel fires across Russia

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian forces struck oil facilities in Russia and occupied Ukraine, Ukrainian and Russian officials said Monday, as part of their campaign to make Moscow pay an economic cost for the war. Separately, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has confirmed that Roman Abramovich acted as a go-between for messages between Kyiv and Moscow. Zelenskyy told Sky News that the former owner of Premier League team Chelsea traveled to Kyiv with a message from Russian President Vladimir Putin. Zelenskyy said Abramovich brought the message

that the Russians “want to understand what we are ready to do,” and had offered to take a reply to Putin. Meanwhile, the European Union’s foreign policy chief said a new proposed round of sanctions against Russia includes 80 listings targeting Russia’s “military industrial complex, human rights violators and propagandists.” Kaja Kallas told a news conference after a meeting of EU defense ministers Monday that Western sanctions have already cost Moscow an estimated $1.2 to 1.5 trillion. Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces shot down

310 Ukrainian drones overnight into Monday, including over the Moscow region, western and southwestern Russia, Russian-occupied Crimea and the Black and Azov seas. Russia targeted Ukraine with 155 drones, of which Ukrainian air defenses shot down or suppressed 124, according to its air force. Ukraine strikes Russian energy sites Ukraine’s General Staff said Ukrainian forces had struck Russia’s Krasnodar Krai region overnight, hitting the Grushovaya oil transshipment base near Novorossiysk. The complex is one of the largest transshipment hubs in southern Russia for oil and

petroleum products. Russian regional authorities confirmed a Ukrainian drone sparked a fire at the facility, adding that there were no casualties. While they did not comment on the extent of damage, they said 130 rescue workers were involved in putting out the blaze. Asked whether the Kremlin is worried about the fuel crisis in Crimea, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Energy Ministry and other agencies are working on a set of measures to respond to the situation. “There are indeed certain problems at the

moment,” Peskov said. “Measures are being taken.” The Krasny Yar “linear production and dispatching station” in the Volgograd region was also hit, the General Staff said. A fire broke out at the site, according to the statement. Russian Gov. Andrei Bocharov didn’t specify what the facility produces, but said there were no injuries. Ukraine also carried out strikes overnight in the Semykolodezkaya oil base in the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula on Sunday night, sparking a fire at the facility. The base is used to store fuel

reserves supplying the Russian military, according to the statement posted on Telegram. Ukrainian forces also struck an oil depot near Feodosia in Crimea, the General Staff said. Zelenskyy sent message to Putin Zelenskyy said his message was that he would meet Putin “any time” in any location other than Russia or Belarus, and either bilaterally or with U.S. President Donald Trump and European leaders. But he said Ukraine would not surrender the Donbas region, currently part-occupied by Russia. “It was the key message. I said

we will not leave and we will not go out from our territory,” Zelenskyy told Sky News. Putin said last week that a Russian businessman, who he didn’t identify, traveled to Kyiv last month and met with Zelenskyy to hear his offer of a personal meeting. The Russian leader rejected the idea of a meeting, saying he saw no point in it. Drone strikes civilians Two people were killed and at least 18 injured, including four children aged 5, 10, 13 and 12, by a

Russian drone attack in the central Zaporizhzhia region that damaged residential buildings and vehicles and destroyed market kiosks, said the regional military administration head, Ivan Fedorov. In Nikopol. a Russian attack killed a 49-year-old woman and injured four other people, according to the State Emergency Service. The service also reported that four people were injured in the Dnipropetrovsk region when strikes hit residential buildings. In Odesa, three people were wounded after a Russian drone struck a public transport stop. Russian drone strikes overnight also injured

civilians and damaged buildings and businesses in the Kharkiv, Odesa and Chernihiv regions, regional authorities said. Meanwhile, a Ukrainian drone overnight struck a passenger train traveling from Moscow to Simferopol in occupied Crimea, injuring the driver and killing the driver’s assistant, Kremlin-installed regional leader Sergei Aksyonov reported early Monday. Akysyonov added that no passengers were hurt. But all passenger train traffic in Crimea was halted following the attack, with passengers evacuated and replacement buses provided, Russian operator Grand Service Express reported on Telegram that same

morning. Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Ukraine attacks, Russia drones, oil facilities fire, Crimea oil base, Zaporizhzhia drone strike, Roman Abramovich, Zelenskyy, EU sanctions