🔗 Share this article

Ukraine's UAVs have targeted Russia's Bashneft processing plant in the city of Ufa, positioned some 1,400 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, resulting in detonations and a inferno, as reported by a source in the Ukrainian Security Service.

This constitutes the 3rd Ukrainian security service deep strike in Bashkortostan in the last month. Such attacks illustrate that there are no secure zones in the distant backlines of the Russian state.

Zelenskyy Urges US President to Broker Truce in the Conflict

The Ukrainian leader called on President Trump to mediate a ceasefire in Ukraine during a telephone conversation on the weekend.

"Provided that a war can be stopped in one region, then surely other wars can be stopped as well, encompassing the Russian war," Zelenskyy remarked, hailing the US President's "remarkable" Middle East peace initiative and urging the American leader to pressure the Moscow into negotiations.

Russian Assaults Claim Victims in the Country

Strikes by Russia on Ukrainian territory claimed the lives of 5 individuals on the weekend and disrupted electricity to parts of the southern Odesa region, per authorities in Ukraine.

Two people were killed within a church in the town when it was targeted, as reported by local authorities.

In Russia's adjacent territory of the Belgorod region, a lorry operator was lost his life by a Ukrainian strike, per local officials.

Electricity Restoration Work in Kyiv

Operations continued on the weekend to repair energy infrastructure in Kyiv, after assaults.

Electricity had been restored to in excess of 800,000 residents by Saturday and the largest private energy company said the primary work to recover electricity was concluded though partial blackouts persisted.

Air Defence Operations and UAV Jamming

Ukraine's air defences downed or disrupted 54 out of 78 enemy drones deployed targeting Ukraine overnight, the military said on Saturday.

The Russian defence ministry claimed it shot down 42 enemy drones over its own soil.

Cuban Government Rejects Allegations of Providing Forces to the War

The Cuban government on the weekend denied American assertions it has deployed soldiers to engage in the hostilities, while affirming officials in Havana "lack precise data about individuals" participating "voluntarily" or "as part of the armed units of both sides".

The ministry in the capital said 26 Cubans had been convicted to prison terms ranging from 5 to 14 years for mercenary activity since last September when news spread of Cubans being dispatched to the battlefield in Ukraine.

Surrender Initiative Project Discloses Information on Cuban National Recruitment

The program, a Ukrainian government project that encourages enemy combatants to lay down arms, stated in spring: "We reliably know the identities and information of 1,028 Cuban nationals who signed contracts with the Russian military in 2023-2024."

The government in Havana stated of Cubans who might be participating: "It is irrefutable that not a single one has the support, allegiance, or consent of the Cuban authorities for their activities."

Relatives of Cuban nationals who traveled to Russia in 2023 told news outlets at the time that their family members had been misled into enlisting through ads on online platforms.