A series of long-range Ukrainian attacks hit targets deep inside Russia, part of Kyiv's efforts to raise the costs of the war for the Kremlin by striking energy facilities and military industries. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces struck several military and energy infrastructure sites on Wednesday, including a military factory in the city of Cheboksary, that he said supplied components for Russian drones and missiles. Zelenskyy also said a refinery in Russia's Samara region and two oil infrastructure facilities in the Vladimir region had been targeted. The increasingly deep and audacious Ukrainian strikes have cast a challenge to Russia's President Vladimir Putin, defying his claim that Moscow was winning the war now in its fifth year.
The former Ukrainian army general widely seen as the top political rival to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has spoken publicly for the first time about a deep rift between the two men. The comments made by Valerii Zaluzhnyi to The Associated Press signal his possible desire to run for the presidency after the war is over. Zelenskyy ousted Zaluzhnyi as head of the army in 2024 and later appointed him ambassador to Britain. Zaluzhnyi told AP that their strained relationship reached a boiling point in 2022, when domestic intelligence agents raided his office. Ukraine's security service said no search was ever carried out at Zaluzhnyi's office, though it acknowledged that the address was part of an investigation unrelated to him. The AP could not confirm Zaluzhnyi's account of the raid.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has replaced the head of the country's security service as part of a top-level reshuffle. The move comes ahead of his trip to Paris, where he hopes to finalize agreements with allies to prevent another Russian invasion if a peace deal is signed. The Paris talks, set for Tuesday, are expected to include leaders from about 30 countries, known as the "coalition of the willing." Key issues include the potential deployment of troops in or near Ukraine. Meanwhile, Russian drone strikes in Ukraine continue to cause casualties and power disruptions. Zelenskyy is focusing on security and defense as the war approaches its fourth anniversary next month.
A Russian rocket attack targeted the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy, killing at least four people and wounding 25. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denounced Tuesday's assault, saying it underscored that Moscow has no intentions of halting the 3-year-old war. The attack came a day after direct peace talks in Istanbul made no progress on ending the fighting. Local authorities said the barrage of rockets struck apartment buildings and a medical facility in the center of Sumy. Meanwhile, Ukraine's secret services said they struck inside Russia again, two days after a spectacular Ukrainian drone attack on air bases deep inside the country.
