Latest Oil Plant Assault Reveals 'No Secure Areas in Russia's Deep Rear'
Ukraine's UAVs have targeted the Russian oil refinery in the city of Ufa, positioned around 1,400 kilometres from the Ukrainian border, resulting in blasts and a fire, per a insider in Ukraine's intelligence agency.
This constitutes the latest Ukrainian security service long-range attack in Bashkortostan in the last month. Those operations illustrate that there are no protected areas in the distant backlines of the Russian Federation.
Ukrainian President Urges US President to Facilitate Truce in the Conflict
The Ukrainian leader called on Donald Trump to facilitate a truce in the Ukrainian conflict during a telephone conversation on the weekend.
"When a war can be stopped in one region, then undoubtedly additional conflicts can be stopped as well, encompassing the Russian aggression," the President remarked, hailing Trump's "exceptional" Middle East peace initiative and urging the President to influence the Moscow into discussions.
Russian Attacks Take Casualties in Ukraine
Moscow's assaults on Ukrainian territory resulted in the deaths of several civilians on the weekend and disrupted electricity to sections of Ukraine's southern Odesa region, per local sources.
Two civilians were killed inside a religious building in Kostyantynivka when it was struck, as reported by regional officials.
In the Russian adjacent territory of Belgorod, a vehicle operator was fatally wounded by a Ukrainian strike, per regional authorities.
Energy Recovery Work in the Capital
Efforts continued on the weekend to repair energy infrastructure in the Ukrainian capital, after assaults.
Power had been restored to in excess of 800,000 inhabitants by the weekend and the largest power firm announced the key operations to repair the grid was complete though some outages remained.
Air Defence Efforts and Drone Jamming
The Ukrainian defense forces downed or disrupted fifty-four of 78 enemy drones sent targeting Ukraine in the dark hours, the air force reported on Saturday.
The Russian defense officials claimed it intercepted 42 UAVs from Ukraine over Russian territory.
Cuba Refutes Claims of Deploying Soldiers to Ukraine
Havana on Saturday denied US allegations it has deployed military personnel to participate in the hostilities, while affirming the government "are without accurate data about Cuban nationals" engaged "voluntarily" or "as part of the armed units of either party".
The government department in the capital said twenty-six nationals had been sentenced to jail sentences from 5 to 14 years for mercenary activity since September 2023 when information circulated of Cubans being dispatched to the battlefield in the conflict.
Surrender Initiative Initiative Reports Information on Cuban National Enlistment
The program, a state program that encourages opposing fighters to surrender, stated in May: "We have confirmed the personal data of over a thousand Cubans who enlisted with the Moscow's troops in the past two years."
The Cuban foreign ministry said of Cubans who might be participating: "It is irrefutable that no individual have the support, allegiance, or approval of the government in Havana for their activities."
Kin of Cubans who departed to the Russian Federation in the year reported to Agence France-Presse at the time that their relatives had been misled into enlisting through ads on social media.