Recent Processing Facility Attack Shows 'No Secure Places in the Russian Far Hinterland'
Ukraine's UAVs have hit Russia's oil refinery in the city of Ufa, situated approximately 1,400 kilometres from the Ukrainian border, triggering explosions and a fire, as reported by a insider in the Ukrainian intelligence agency.
This represents the 3rd SBU deep strike in the region in the last month. Such operations illustrate that there are no safe places in the distant backlines of the Russian Federation.
Zelenskyy Appeals to US President to Broker Ceasefire in Ukraine
Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Donald Trump to broker peace in Ukraine during a phone call on the weekend.
"Provided that a hostilities can be ended in a particular zone, then certainly other wars can be stopped as well, covering the Russian war," the President stated, commending Trump's "exceptional" Middle East peace initiative and requesting the President to influence the Kremlin into discussions.
Moscow's Strikes Take Lives in the Country
Strikes by Russia on Ukraine resulted in the deaths of five people on the weekend and caused blackouts to sections of Ukraine's south Odesa area, per authorities in Ukraine.
Two people were killed in a religious building in Kostyantynivka when it was targeted, per regional officials.
In the Russian frontier area of Belgorod, a truck driver was killed by a Ukrainian strike, according to local officials.
Energy Restoration Operations in the Capital
Operations continued on Saturday to repair energy infrastructure in the Ukrainian capital, after strikes by Moscow.
Electricity had been restored to more than 800,000 residents by the weekend and the major power firm stated the primary work to recover electricity was complete though some outages remained.
Anti-Aircraft Operations and Drone Interceptions
The Ukrainian air defences intercepted or jammed fifty-four of seventy-eight UAVs from Russia deployed towards the country overnight, the military reported on the weekend.
The Russian defence ministry claimed it eliminated forty-two UAVs from Ukraine over its own soil.
Cuban Government Refutes Accusations of Deploying Soldiers to the War
Havana on Saturday rejected US allegations it has sent troops to engage in the Ukraine war, while declaring Cuban authorities "lack accurate information about Cuban nationals" involved "voluntarily" or "in the military forces of the conflicting parties".
The foreign ministry in the capital said twenty-six Cubans had been sentenced to prison terms from five up to fourteen years for mercenary involvement since the autumn of 2023 when news spread of Cuban nationals being deployed to the front in the conflict.
Surrender Initiative Program Reports Information on Cuban National Involvement
The surrender initiative, a official Kyiv initiative that encourages opposing fighters to surrender, said in spring: "Our information indicates the personal data of one thousand and twenty-eight Cuban nationals who enlisted with the Russian armed forces in 2023-2024."
The Cuban foreign ministry stated of those who might be engaged: "There is no doubt that no individual has the support, commitment, or approval of the Cuban state for their actions."
Relatives of Cubans who departed to Russia in 2023 told international media at the time that their family members had been tricked into joining through ads on online platforms.