Ukrainian forces struck oil facilities in Russia and occupied Crimea, Ukrainian and Russian officials said on Monday. This is part of a campaign aimed at making Moscow pay an economic price for the war. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.
Separately, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that Roman Abramovich acted as an intermediary in passing messages between Kyiv and Moscow. Zelenskyy told Sky News that the former Premier League club owner came to Kyiv with a message from Russian President Vladimir Putin. Abramovich conveyed that the Russians "want to understand what we are ready for" and offered to pass the response to Putin.
Meanwhile, the EU's foreign policy chief said a new proposed sanctions package against Russia includes 80 items targeting "Russia's military-industrial complex, human rights violators and propagandists." Kaja Kallas said at a press conference after an EU defense ministers' meeting on Monday that Western sanctions have already cost Moscow about $1.2-1.5 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, occupied Crimea, the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. Russia struck Ukraine with 155 drones, of which Ukrainian air defenses shot down or suppressed 124, according to the Ukrainian Air Force.
Ukraine's General Staff said Ukrainian forces struck Russia's Krasnodar region, hitting the "Grushovaya" oil transshipment base near Novorossiysk. This facility is one of the largest transshipment hubs in southern Russia for oil and petroleum products. Russian regional authorities confirmed that a Ukrainian drone caused a fire at the site, adding that there were no casualties. While they did not comment on the extent of damage, they said 130 rescuers were involved in extinguishing the fire.
Asked whether the Kremlin is worried about a fuel crisis in Crimea, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Energy Ministry and other agencies are developing a set of measures to respond to the situation. "Currently, there are indeed certain problems," Peskov said. "Measures are being taken."