Zelenskyy says Ukraine struck two refineries inside Russia overnight
The strikes come as Macron pushes a mutual halt to energy-site attacks and US and Russian envoys meet in Washington.
Published
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine hit two oil refineries inside Russia overnight.
The strikes follow a proposal from French President Emmanuel Macron for a two-way halt to attacks on refineries and the power grid. Macron has said Russia treats Europe as Ukraine's strategic depth.
The attack came as US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Russia's Kirill Dmitriev, following Dmitriev's talks in Washington on Wednesday and a session between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in New York. The Kremlin has said conditions for peace talks are not yet ready and that it wants a full settlement rather than a ceasefire.
Russia has already cut its own forecast for 2026 fuel exports to 98.5 million tons, 24.1 million tons below its May estimate, according to a draft government document reported by Reuters.
By striking refineries again, Ukraine is rejecting the kind of restraint Macron proposed, and doing so just as Washington and Moscow test the ground for talks. That timing works against any near-term prospect of peace.