Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia is moving a significant part of its air defences to protect a handful of prime targets, including Moscow, as Ukraine’s long-range drones hammered sites
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has declared his forces will step up pre-emptive strikes on facilities deep inside Russia to try and cripple Vladimir Putin’s ability to attack.
In one of his most strident statements on Kyiv’s deep-strike operations so far, he vowed his spies and special forces will make sure “Russians feel this war exists.” It comes as the Kremlin is piling on pressure towards Belarus to try and persuade it to become overtly involved in the war, launching offensives on Ukraine from the north.
Mr Zelensky’s warning was issued just hours before his special forces launches another long-range attack on a major fuel depot in the southern Krasnodar region. The attack earlier today was a second such assault in less than two weeks and one of many that are smashing President Vladimir Putin’s war chest. Mr Zelensky said: “I instructed our intelligence services and military to act preemptively against facilities Russia uses to expand its war effort.”
He said the campaign is a direct response to Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian cities and villages, such as in the Sumy, Kharkiv, Poltava, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions. He vowed: “This Russian cruelty and aggression is the root cause of the war. And it is important that Russians feel that this war exists – and that it exists because of them.” Soon after Ukraine’s attack Russia responded with drone strikes on Zaporizhzhia.
The US-based Institute for the Study of War revealed this week that: “ The Kremlin is intensifying pressure on Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to expand Belarusian involvement in Russia’s war against Ukraine.” It’s latest assessment added: “Lukashenko continues trying to resist the Kremlin’s demands while maintaining Russia’s approval.” Sources suggest the Kremlin is leaning on Mr Lukashenko to green-light drone attacks being launched across the Belarus border with Ukraine.
Putin’s spooks want this to happen to try and dilute Ukraine’s already stretched military resources away from the eastern frontline. It said that a Russian intelligence officer and whistleblower suggests the Kremlin is now threatening to withdraw financial support from Belarus if it does not agree. Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov claimed on June 24 that Russia will always stand by Belarus and repel threats against Belarus, including from Ukraine, as both Russia and Belarus are security and economic allies.
The ISM assessment says: “Minsk is trying to balance maintaining Russian support for Belarus while maintaining what remains of Belarus’ degraded sovereignty.
Mr Lukashenko has resisted allowing Russia to operationalize the Belarusian Armed Forces to support Russian operations in Ukraine or full-scale recruit Belarusians into the Russian military at scale since 2022. Mr Lukashenko and other senior Belarusian officials notably continue avoiding adopting the Kremlin’s framing that portrays Ukraine as a threat to Belarus. Mr Lukashenko continues to stall and deflect the Kremlin’s intensified attempts to drag Belarus into the war in Ukraine while maintaining relatively neutral rhetoric towards Ukraine.”
