Ukraine conducted drone strikes on oil-processing plants in Russia’s Perm region, Tatarstan, and Ryazan overnight, resuming attacks after US special envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff visited Moscow and Kyiv over the weekend. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the strikes also targeted drone launch sites in Russia’s Kursk Oblast and a site in the Black Sea.
The attacks followed a meeting Zelensky held with Kushner and Witkoff on Sunday, which the Americans have since said moved Ukraine closer to peace with Russia. Witkoff stated on X that “substantive progress was made, including movement on scheduling additional trilateral talks,” and that President Trump “is working hard to stop the killing and work towards a lasting and durable peace.” Witkoff also said both Russia and Ukraine had agreed to a three-day cease-fire before the visit.
Some Trump administration officials have blamed Ukrainian attacks on oil refineries for driving up gas prices in the US, with Energy Secretary Chris Wright telling CNN that it’s been “the single-biggest factor” in addition to the closure of other processing plants. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told “Fox & Friends” that Ukraine’s decision to “blow up Russian energy assets and refined products” is “creating upward price pressure on a global basis.”
Zelensky suggested in an earlier Telegram message that drone attacks on Kyiv’s airports were “in response to American diplomacy,” stating that Russian strikes on the airports were “a reaction to the discussions and preparations for the possibility of the U.S. side using an aircraft to travel to Ukraine.” A video posted by Zelensky showed the long-range drones flying back from the refineries, with smoke billowing from the sites. The US special envoys were forced to take a more than 10-hour train ride after Russian strikes on Kyiv’s airports.
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