Ukraine war briefing: Latest refinery strike shows ‘no safe places in Russia’s deep rear’

Ukrainian drones have struck Russia’s Bashneft oil refinery in Ufa, 1,400km from Ukraine, causing explosions and a fire, a source in Ukraine’s SBU security service told Reuters on Saturday. “This is the third SBU deep strike in Bashkortostan in the last month … Such strikes demonstrate that there are no safe places in the deep rear of the Russian Federation.”

Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Donald Trump to broker peace in Ukraine “[like in] the Middle East” during a phone call on Saturday. “If a war can be stopped in one region, then surely other wars can be stopped as well, including the Russian war,” Zelenskyy said, hailing Trump’s “outstanding” Gaza ceasefire plan and calling for the US president to pressure the Kremlin into negotiations.

Russian attacks on Ukraine killed at least five people on Saturday and cut power to parts of Ukraine’s southern Odesa region, according to Ukrainian officials. Two people died inside a church in Kostyantynivka when it was hit, according to local authorities. In Russia’s border region of Belgorod, a truck driver was killed by a Ukrainian strike, according to local officials.

Work continued on Saturday to restore power in Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, after Russian attacks. Power had been restored to more than 800,000 residents by Saturday and the largest private energy company, DTEK, said the main work to restore power was complete though some outages remained.

Ukraine’s air defences intercepted or jammed 54 of 78 Russian drones launched against Ukraine overnight, the air force said on Saturday. Russia’s defence ministry said it shot down 42 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory.

Cuba on Saturday denied US claims it has sent soldiers to fight in the Ukraine war, while stating Cuban authorities “do not have precise information about Cuban nationals” participating “on their own” or “in the military forces of both sides”. The ministry in Havana said 26 Cubans had been sentenced to prison terms ranging from five to 14 years for mercenary activity since September 2023 when reports circulated of Cubans being sent to the front in Ukraine.

I Want to Live, a Ukrainian government initiative that encourages enemy combatants to surrender, said in May: “We reliably know the names and personal details of 1,028 Cubans who signed contracts with the Russian armed forces in 2023-2024.” The Cuban foreign ministry said of Cubans who might be involved: “It is irrefutable that none of them have the encouragement, commitment, or consent of the Cuban state for their actions.” Relatives of Cubans who left for Russia in 2023 told Agence France-Presse at the time that their loved ones had been deceptively recruited through advertisements on social media.