Zelensky Calls for Increased Drone Strikes on Russia, Targeting 1,000 Hits a Day

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Tuesday that he had asked the armed forces to intensify long-range drone strikes against Russia, raising the target to 1,000 hits a day from the approximately 300 currently being carried out.

“There must be more; there is a specific target, and we will achieve it,” Zelensky said in a speech delivered on Tuesday afternoon.

Meanwhile, gasoline production in Russia fell to around 70% of domestic demand at the end of August. According to two industry sources cited by Reuters, the decline was caused by successive Ukrainian drone strikes, which forced major refineries to suspend operations.

Kyiv has stepped up strikes against Russia’s energy infrastructure, aiming to reduce Moscow’s revenues from oil exports. After a brief easing at the end of July, fuel shortages returned to Russian regions during August, while some local authorities began easing or lifting restrictions on its sale.

The sources said that in the final days of August, gasoline production fell to the level recorded at the beginning of July.

Last week, several major refineries were forced to halt operations following Ukrainian drone strikes. They included facilities in Perm, Nizhny Novgorod and Yaroslavl, all important gasoline-producing units.