🔗 Share this article

Ukraine's UAVs have hit the Russian Bashneft processing plant in the city of Ufa, positioned some 1,400 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, causing blasts and a inferno, per a insider in the Ukrainian Security Service.

This marks the 3rd SBU far-reaching assault in the region in the recent weeks. These strikes demonstrate that there are no secure zones in the far hinterland of the Russian state.

Ukrainian President Appeals to Trump to Facilitate Peace in the Conflict

Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on the US President to broker peace in Ukraine during a phone call on Saturday.

"When a hostilities can be stopped in one region, then undoubtedly further hostilities can be halted as well, including the conflict with Russia," the President remarked, praising the US President's "remarkable" Middle East ceasefire plan and urging the President to influence the Moscow into negotiations.

Moscow's Attacks Kill Victims in the Country

Strikes by Russia on Ukrainian territory killed at least 5 individuals on the weekend and caused blackouts to areas of the south Odesa oblast, according to Ukrainian officials.

Two people died within a religious building in the town when it was targeted, per municipal sources.

In the Russian adjacent territory of Belgorod, a lorry operator was killed by a Ukrainian strike, according to municipal sources.

Energy Repair Efforts in Kyiv

Work continued on the weekend to recover electricity in the Ukrainian capital, after strikes by Moscow.

Electricity had been restored to in excess of 800,000 residents by the weekend and the biggest utility provider said the key operations to repair the grid was complete though certain disruptions continued.

Air Defence Efforts and UAV Downings

Ukraine's defense forces neutralized 54 out of 78 Russian drones launched against Ukraine during the night, the aerial defense command reported on Saturday.

Russia's military authorities claimed it shot down 42 drones over its own soil.

Cuba Denies Claims of Providing Soldiers to the War

The Cuban government on Saturday rejected American allegations it has deployed soldiers to fight in the Ukraine war, while declaring officials in Havana "lack accurate information about citizens of Cuba" involved "voluntarily" or "as part of the armed units of either party".

The ministry in the capital stated 26 Cubans had been sentenced to jail sentences varying between five to 14 years for mercenary involvement since September 2023 when information circulated of individuals being deployed to the battlefield in the conflict.

I Want to Live Program Reports Data on Cuban Enlistment

I Want to Live, a official Kyiv project that encourages opposing fighters to surrender, said in spring: "Our information indicates the personal data of one thousand and twenty-eight Cuban nationals who signed contracts with the Russian armed forces in recently."

The government in Havana said of Cuban nationals who might be participating: "There is no doubt that none of them have the support, allegiance, or approval of the Cuban authorities for their actions."

Relatives of Cubans who departed to the Russian Federation in the year reported to Agence France-Presse at the time that their loved ones had been tricked into joining through ads on online platforms.