KYIV, Ukraine (AP) 鈥� Ukrainian officials said Wednesday the country’s forces hit one of Russia鈥檚 biggest oil refineries overnight in its latest deep strike as Kyiv extended economic, military and diplomatic pressure on Moscow.
Ukraine鈥檚 almost daily long-range drone and missile strikes using domestically developed weapons have and brought a fuel crisis that is embarrassing the Kremlin more than four years after of its neighbor.
The overnight attack started a fire at the Ryazan refinery, which has a capacity of about 17 million tons of oil per year, producing gasoline, diesel fuel, aviation fuel and other petroleum products, according to Ukraine鈥檚 General Staff. The refinery is about 400 kilometers (180 miles) from Ukraine.
The attack came hours after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday for talks with President Donald Trump in another step in recruiting more vital U.S. help for Ukraine鈥檚 fight against its much bigger enemy.
Ryazan Gov. Pavel Malkov said six people were taken to hospital after a drone attack. He said drone debris caused fires at unidentified 鈥渋ndustrial sites.鈥�
鈥淩ussia must feel that every day of this war will only come at a higher cost for it. We need to weaken the aggressor and keep up the pressure to bring an end to this war closer,鈥� Zelenskyy said in a post on social media.
Ukraine鈥檚 recent against Russia have impressed Washington and helped restore U.S. goodwill after at the start of his second term to continue to support Kyiv. That stance had raised the specter of Ukraine and Europe having to stand up to Russian aggression alone.
Zelenskyy says he had a good meeting with Trump
Zelenskyy said he had a 鈥済ood meeting鈥� with the American president, and Trump described the meeting as a 鈥淕reat Honor.鈥� The talks took place behind closed doors.
鈥淢any things were discussed. The meeting went very well!鈥� Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Zelenskyy said he also had a meeting in Washington with representatives of both parties in the U.S. Senate, with more than 60 senators in attendance, as Ukraine pushes for . He also met with representatives of Lockheed Martin, days after he welcomed a to Kyiv.
The U.S. weapons manufacturers are a crucial source of sophisticated weaponry, such as Patriot air defense systems, that Ukraine hopes to make itself. Trump said earlier this month he would to manufacture the Patriots it needs to counter Russia鈥檚 ballistic missiles.
Zelenskyy says Ukraine is discussing joint production and technology exchange with both Lockheed Martin and Raytheon.
Ukraine is ready to share its cutting-edge 鈥� and battle-tested 鈥� . Its swift technical innovation as it helps pin down Russia鈥檚 bigger army on the front line and denies it supplies by hitting rear areas.
That has impressed countries around the world. Matthew Whitaker, the U.S. Ambassador to NATO, said during a visit to Ukraine earlier this week: 鈥淔rom reconnaissance and logistics to precision strikes, Ukraine has shown the world how unmanned systems can give smaller forces a decisive edge.鈥�
Prospects for a settlement to stop the fighting appear dim, despite a yearlong by the Trump administration.
But U.S. officials also agreed that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the president鈥檚 main envoys, would make a trip to Kyiv sometime in the future, according to a person familiar with the talks who was granted anonymity to discuss the closed-door meeting.
, the new commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s military, said in a social media post on Wednesday that he had held his first phone conversation with Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich, the Supreme Allied Commander Europe and Commander of U.S. European Command.
鈥淚 outlined my vision of Ukraine鈥檚 victory and the capabilities required to achieve it,鈥� said Drapatyi, who was appointed last week as part of a .
鈥淎t this stage of the war, we must strengthen operations across multiple domains, prevent enemy infiltration into our defensive lines, and expand both long-range and medium-range precision strikes against the enemy,鈥� he added.
Ukraine says it hit a Russian naval base
Ukrainian forces also struck a naval base used Russia鈥檚 Black Sea, according to the General Staff.
It reported other strikes on a radar station in Russia鈥檚 Bryansk region on the border and on a drone launch site and a road bridge in the occupied part of Ukraine鈥檚 eastern Donetsk region.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported Wednesday that its air defenses shot down 295 Ukrainian drones overnight above a number of Russian regions and occupied Crimea.
A 67-year-old person was killed in a Russian aerial attack on Ukraine’s southern Kherson region, and Russian drones wounded three men in a residential neighborhood in Kherson city, the regional capital, according to Oleksandr Prokudin, the head of the Kherson regional military administration.
Russian glide bombs struck the northeastern city of Kharkiv and 17 other places in the region of the same name over the previous 24 hours, wounding 11 people, the head of the regional military administration, Oleh Syniehubov, said.
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Hatton reported from Lisbon, Portugal.
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