🔗 Share this article

Ukrainian drones have targeted the Russian Bashneft refinery in the city of Ufa, positioned around 1,400 km from Ukraine, resulting in detonations and a fire, per a insider in the Ukrainian SBU.

This constitutes the 3rd SBU far-reaching assault in the region in the last month. Those operations show that there are no protected areas in the far hinterland of the Russian state.

Zelenskyy Urges US President to Mediate Peace in the Conflict

President Zelenskyy urged the US President to broker peace in the Ukrainian conflict during a phone call on Saturday.

"If a hostilities can be halted in a single area, then surely further hostilities can be ended as well, including the conflict with Russia," he remarked, praising Trump's "outstanding" Gaza truce proposal and urging the US president to pressure the Russian government into talks.

Russian Assaults Kill Casualties in Ukraine

Strikes by Russia on Ukrainian territory resulted in the deaths of five people on the weekend and caused blackouts to areas of Ukraine's south Odesa region, per local sources.

Two civilians lost their lives in a religious building in Kostyantynivka when it was struck, per municipal sources.

In Russia's border region of Belgorod, a truck driver was killed by a drone assault, per regional authorities.

Energy Recovery Efforts in the Capital

Operations carried on on Saturday to restore power in Kyiv, after assaults.

Power had been returned to over 800,000 inhabitants by the weekend and the major power firm stated the main efforts to recover electricity was complete though some outages continued.

Anti-Aircraft Operations and Drone Interceptions

Ukraine's anti-aircraft systems downed or disrupted 54 of seventy-eight UAVs from Russia deployed towards Ukraine overnight, the air force said on Saturday.

Russia's defense officials claimed it shot down 42 enemy drones over the country's airspace.

Cuba Denies Accusations of Providing Forces to Ukraine

The Cuban government on the weekend rejected US assertions it has sent military personnel to participate in the Ukraine war, while affirming Cuban authorities "are without accurate information about individuals" engaged "voluntarily" or "within the troops of both sides".

The government department in the capital said twenty-six Cuban citizens had been convicted to incarceration varying between five to 14 years for mercenary activity since last September when reports emerged of individuals being deployed to the front in the conflict.

I Want to Live Initiative Reveals Data on Cuban Involvement

I Want to Live, a official Kyiv project that promotes opposing fighters to lay down arms, stated in spring: "We have confirmed the personal data of 1,028 Cubans who signed contracts with the Russian military in 2023-2024."

The Cuban authorities commented of those who might be engaged: "Undeniably that no individual has the support, allegiance, or consent of the Cuban state for their actions."

Kin of Cubans who traveled to the Russian Federation in 2023 told Agence France-Presse at the time that their relatives had been tricked into joining through advertisements on online platforms.