Zelensky Calls for More Drone Strikes Against Russia: War Objectives Must Be Achieved

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that he had asked the armed forces to increase the number of long-range drone strikes against Russia to 1,000 per day, up from around 300 currently.

“The number must be higher. There is a set target, and we will achieve it,” he said during a speech delivered on Tuesday afternoon.

According to two industry sources cited by Reuters, Russian gasoline production fell at the end of August to around 70% of domestic demand. The decline came after a series of Ukrainian drone strikes forced major refineries to halt operations.

For some time, Ukraine has intensified strikes against Russia’s energy infrastructure, aiming to reduce Moscow’s revenues from oil exports. Fuel supply problems returned in Russian regions during August, following a brief easing at the end of July, when some local authorities began relaxing or lifting restrictions on its sale.

The sources said that in the final days of August, gasoline production reached the same 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 of them important gasoline-producing units.