Ukrainian drones travel 1,500 kilometers to hit the last untouched large oil refinery in Russia. Trump backs a Russia sanctions package spearheaded by Graham, CNN says. Putin could get to an escalation if he fails to secure a victory in Ukraine, Zelenskyi warns.
Ukraine drones travel 1,500 kilometers to hit last untouched large oil refinery in Russia
The Ukrainian military struck a number of war-related targets inside Russia overnight on Tuesday, including the Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat oil processing plant in the republic of Bashkortostan, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said.
“[The drones] hit target, causing a fire at the facility. The extent of the damage and results of the attack are being determined,” the General Staff said in a post to social media Tuesday.
The plant is one of Russia’s largest oil processing and petrochemical complexes, it added. It is designed to process around 10 million tons of oil a year. The facility produces gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, lubricants and other products that support the Russian economy and war machine.
The operation was carried out by Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces. The Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat oil processing plant was “the last large producer of fuel that was not targeted this year,” the military branch said in a post to social media on Tuesday.
“The mission was carried out in cooperation with the Chiornaya Iskra (Black Spark) partisan movement that operates inside Russia,” it added.
The drones travelled around 1,500 kilometers to hit target. According to preliminary reports, the attack damaged the AVT-6 primary crude oil processing unit and other production facilities.
Ukraine also carried out another strike on the Afipsky oil refinery in Russia’s Krasnodar region overnight on Tuesday, triggering a fire. The extent of the damage and results of the attack are being determined, the General Staff said. Russian Telegram channels located the fire to be near oil tanks.
The Afipsky oil refinery is one of the largest in southern Russia. It processes around 6.25 million tons of crude annually. The facility manufactures motor fuels and their components that are also used to supply the Russian army.
The Ukrainian military also struck a transshipment area near Gelendzhik, in the Krasnodar region overnight on Tuesday, the General Staff said. It added that Russia uses the transshipment infrastructure near Gelendzhik to ship oil and support its military and naval logistics. The extent of the damage and results of the attack are being determined, the General Staff said.
Ukraine also struck five oil tankers, five dry cargo ships and a raid tugboat in the Azov Sea overnight on Tuesday. Russia used the vessels to transport oil and petroleum products, circumventing the international sanctions, the General Staff said.
Ukrainian strikes also hit a Russian ammunition depot in occupied Donetsk and a logistical hub in occupied Luhansk, the message reads.
Trump backs Russia sanctions package spearheaded by Graham, CNN says
President Donald Trump will support the passage of a bipartisan Russia sanctions package that was spearheaded by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, a White House official told CNN on Monday. The paragraphs below are quoted from the article.
The endorsement comes days after Graham’s unexpected death, likely further smoothing the path for a bill that the South Carolina senator spent years working to push across the finish line.
Graham and Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal previously indicated the administration was prepared to back the package, saying Friday that they reached an agreement following extensive negotiations. Yet it was unclear at the time whether Trump would directly support the bill, as the president had repeatedly panned the legislation and pushed for more direct discretion on imposing sanctions.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune earlier on Monday said the White House had been working closely with Graham on the measure, telling CNN that he [w]as hopeful.
“It’ll take Democrats and Republicans here in the Senate to do that, but I’m hopeful we can make it happen,” he said.
Thune said that in Graham’s last days, the sanctions package was “the thing that he cared the most about in terms of an accomplishment, and it would certainly be an incredible legacy for him.”
In a separate interview, Blumenthal told CNN that he planned to speak with Thune on Monday afternoon about the final preparations and timing for the bill’s passage, including finding a new Republican to take Graham’s place as its lead sponsor.
The sanctions package would clear the way for Trump to impose heavy tariffs on imports from nations that buy Russian oil, uranium and natural gas, in an effort to further weaken Moscow amid its war with Ukraine.
U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham was a longstanding Republican politician, representing South Carolina. He died on July 11. On July 10, he was in Ukraine with Republican Michael McCaul, Chairman Emeritus of the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs. The two met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi.
Four U.S. senators, including Blumenthal and Graham, said in a statement on July 10 that they had reachedagreement with the Trump administration to move forward with updated legislation on Russia sanctions.
Putin could get to escalation if he fails to secure victory in Ukraine, Zelenskyi warns
In an interview with French broadcaster BFMTV published on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said if Russian leader Vladimir Putin fails to secure a victory in Ukraine, he could get to an escalation.
If Moscow fails to secure victory in Ukraine, the Russian leader “will become very dangerous, and not only for us,” Zelenskyi said, according to a Ukrainian translation of the interview originally published in French.
“He will try to occupy another place, other people and kill again, kill people,” Zelenskyi continued.
He also warned that Putin may choose to “involve more countries in the war” in the near future.
Commenting on the possibility of a ceasefire, Zelenskyi said that while it remains achievable, securing one is highly challenging.
“We must bring this war to an end. However, one party, Russia, has shown no genuine desire to do so. Their commitment exists only in words,” he said, adding that a ceasefire requires not just words but also concrete steps.
Zelenskyi also said that Putin “is a liar” when it comes to discussing a ceasefire, “because he needs a victory.”
Speaking at a news conference alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Paris on Monday, Zelenskyi said Ukraine’s positions on the battlefield this year “are stronger than in any other year of the war.”
He also said that ballistic missile strikes “have become Russia’s final bet,” Putin’s ultimate “means of prolonging this bloody war.”
Russia is losing more than 400 soldiers to gain a square kilometer of land in Donetsk region, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Oleksandr Syrskyi said in a post to social media on Tuesday.
