Ukrainian Forces Strike Russian Oil Facilities; Zelenskyy Confirms Abramovich Mediation

Ukrainian forces launched a series of drone strikes targeting oil facilities in Russia and occupied Crimea overnight Sunday into Monday, as part of a sustained campaign to impose economic costs on Moscow for its ongoing war. The Ukrainian General Staff reported that its forces struck the Grushovaya oil transshipment base near Novorossiysk in Russia's Krasnodar Krai region, one of the largest hubs for oil and petroleum products in southern Russia.

Russian regional authorities confirmed that a Ukrainian drone sparked a fire at the facility, with 130 rescue workers deployed to extinguish the blaze. No casualties were reported, and the extent of damage was not disclosed.

In a separate development, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that Roman Abramovich, the former owner of Chelsea Football Club, acted as a go-between for messages between Kyiv and Moscow. In an interview with Sky News, Zelenskyy said Abramovich traveled to Kyiv with a message from Russian President Vladimir Putin, seeking to understand Ukraine's readiness for negotiations.

Zelenskyy stated that he conveyed a willingness to meet Putin "any time" in any location except Russia or Belarus, either bilaterally or with U.S. President Donald Trump and European leaders, but firmly rejected any surrender of the Donbas region, which is partially occupied by Russia.

The European Union's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, announced a new proposed round of sanctions against Russia, including 80 listings targeting the country's military industrial complex, human rights violators, and propagandists. Kallas noted that Western sanctions have already cost Moscow an estimated $1 billion.

Russia's Defense Ministry claimed its forces shot down 310 Ukrainian drones overnight, including over the Moscow region, western and southwestern Russia, occupied Crimea, and the Black and Azov seas. In turn, Russia targeted Ukraine with 155 drones, of which Ukrainian air defenses shot down or suppressed 124, according to Ukraine's air force.

Ukrainian drone strikes also hit the Krasny Yar linear production and dispatching station in the Volgograd region, causing a fire, and the Semykolodezkaya oil base in occupied Crimea, as well as an oil depot near Feodosia. Russian drone strikes overnight injured civilians and damaged buildings in the Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, and Chernihiv regions.

In Dnipropetrovsk, four people were injured when residential buildings were hit, and in Odesa, three people were wounded after a drone struck a public transport stop.

Additionally, a Ukrainian drone struck a passenger train traveling from Moscow to Simferopol in occupied Crimea, killing the driver's assistant and injuring the driver, according to Kremlin-installed regional leader Sergei Aksyonov. No passengers were hurt.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov acknowledged fuel supply problems in Crimea, stating that the Energy Ministry and other agencies are working on measures to address the situation.