Ukraine has struck gas facilities in southwest Russia’s Orenburg region, more than 1,500 km from the Ukrainian border, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In his daily video address on Tuesday evening, Zelenskyy said the attack was retaliation for Russia’s overnight attacks on Ukraine.
“Ukraine has said that we will act symmetrically in response to Russia,” he stated. Evgeny Solntsev, the governor of Orenburg, claimed nine Ukrainian drones were repelled over the region, with fragments damaging a residential building, a school, and a kindergarten, but causing no injuries.
The strikes came hours after Moscow launched overnight attacks on Ukraine, killing six people in the Dnipropetrovsk region, as a three-day ceasefire brokered by US President Donald Trump ended. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Kyiv had offered to extend the ceasefire, but Moscow refused.
Zelenskyy reported that Ukraine was attacked by more than 200 drones, damaging energy facilities, apartment buildings, a kindergarten, and a civilian train. On Tuesday, Russia tested a new nuclear-capable intercontinental missile, which President Vladimir Putin described as the “most powerful” nuclear missile in the world, capable of traveling over 35,000 km.
Analysts have previously accused Putin of exaggerating Russia’s military capabilities. On Saturday, Putin suggested the war in Ukraine, which began over four years ago, was nearing its end. The Kremlin reiterated this claim on Tuesday, with spokesperson Dmitry Peskov saying progress in talks with the US and Ukraine would soon bring the conflict to a close.
Zelenskyy disagreed, warning that Ukraine is preparing for further attacks. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Putin’s comments were a sign of weakness. Talks aimed at ending the conflict have so far failed to achieve a significant breakthrough, stalling in recent months.
Trump, who made ending the war a key pledge during his 2024 campaign, told reporters on Tuesday, “The end of the war in Ukraine, I really think it’s getting very close.” However, Ukrainian officials are reportedly concerned that proposed agreements do not include security guarantees, which Kyiv views as essential.
Source: www.aljazeera.com