🔗 Share this article

Ukraine's UAVs have hit Russia's Bashneft refinery in the city of Ufa, located some 1,400 kilometres from Ukraine, causing explosions and a fire, according to a insider in the Ukrainian SBU.

This constitutes the third Ukrainian security service far-reaching assault in Bashkortostan in the last month. These operations demonstrate that there are no safe places in the far hinterland of the Russia.

Zelenskyy Appeals to US President to Facilitate Peace in Ukraine

The Ukrainian leader called on President Trump to facilitate a truce in Ukraine in a phone call on the weekend.

"When a conflict can be stopped in a single area, then surely additional conflicts can be stopped as well, covering the Russian war," Zelenskyy said, hailing the US President's "remarkable" Middle East ceasefire plan and urging the American leader to pressure the Russian government into discussions.

Russian Strikes Take Casualties in Ukraine

Moscow's assaults on Ukrainian territory claimed the lives of several civilians on the weekend and caused blackouts to sections of Ukraine's southern Odesa oblast, as stated by Ukrainian officials.

Two people were killed in a church in Kostyantynivka when it was struck, per local authorities.

In the Russian border region of the Belgorod region, a vehicle operator was lost his life by a drone assault, as stated by local officials.

Power Restoration Operations in Kyiv

Operations continued on Saturday to recover electricity in the Ukrainian capital, after strikes by Moscow.

Energy had been returned to over 800,000 residents by the weekend and the biggest utility provider announced the main efforts to restore power was complete though partial blackouts continued.

Anti-Aircraft Operations and Drone Downings

Ukraine's anti-aircraft systems downed or disrupted 54 of 78 Russian drones deployed against the country in the dark hours, the military reported on Saturday.

Russia's military authorities stated it intercepted 42 drones over its own soil.

Cuban Government Denies Allegations of Providing Forces to Ukraine

The Cuban government on Saturday refuted American allegations it has sent soldiers to fight in the conflict in Ukraine, while affirming Cuban authorities "do not have accurate information about Cuban nationals" participating "on their own" or "within the troops of both sides".

The foreign ministry in Havana announced twenty-six Cuban citizens had been given prison terms to incarceration ranging from five up to fourteen years for mercenary involvement since the autumn of 2023 when reports circulated of individuals being deployed to the front in the conflict.

Surrender Initiative Project Discloses Information on Cuban National Involvement

The program, a official Kyiv program that urges adversaries to give up, stated in spring: "Our information indicates the personal data of one thousand and twenty-eight Cuban nationals who enlisted with the Russian armed forces in the past two years."

The Cuban foreign ministry said of Cubans who might be engaged: "Undeniably that none of them has the backing, allegiance, or authorization of the Cuban authorities for their activities."

Relatives of Cubans who left for the Russian Federation in the year reported to Agence France-Presse at the time that their family members had been deceptively recruited through promotions on digital networks.