Ukraine will double down on striking Russian oil refineries in response to a new Russian policy of airstrikes on a far broader range of civilian targets, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Reuters.
The big picture: Zelenskyy said Ukrainian intelligence obtained documents showing Vladimir Putin issued a "new doctrine" for attacks ahead of this winter, aimed at emptying Ukrainian cities rather than taking them.
- "We saw documents and we know that they allow them to attack infrastructure, logistics, and especially to attack in the cities, in the villages, everywhere, roads, schools, hospitals," he said. "To pressure people to leave the capital, leave different cities: this is the goal of the operation."
Zoom in: Over the past week Kyiv has been hit by persistent drone and missile attacks on energy, telecoms, road and rail assets. For the first time, Russia targeted the bridges across the Dnipro River that connect the city’s two halves.
Between the lines: Zelenskyy attributed the shift to Putin’s need to look strong while his forces lose ground and take heavier casualties. He said a Ukrainian counteroffensive code-named Vivaldi has retaken about 140 square kilometers (54 square miles) of Donbas and is still running.
The other side: Russia’s Foreign Ministry, urging foreign nationals to leave Kyiv, said Moscow would keep systematically hitting targets in what it called retaliation for Ukrainian strikes on Russia. Both governments deny deliberately targeting civilians. The Kremlin was unavailable for comment Saturday.
- Zelenskyy said he has received no sign that Putin wants peace talks or a ceasefire limited to energy infrastructure, even as Washington tries to revive negotiations in the war’s fourth year.
Why it matters: Refinery strikes move diesel prices worldwide, which is why Trump urged Ukraine last month to leave Russian oil installations alone. A harder Ukrainian campaign points at higher fuel costs this winter for drivers and shippers far from the front.
