🔗 Share this article

Ukraine's drones have targeted the Russian oil refinery in the city of Ufa, situated some 1,400 kilometers from Ukraine, resulting in explosions and a blaze, as reported by a insider in the Ukrainian intelligence agency.

This represents the 3rd Ukrainian security service long-range attack in Bashkortostan in the last month. Those operations show that there are no safe places in the distant backlines of the Russian state.

Zelenskyy Calls On Trump to Broker Ceasefire in Ukraine

President Zelenskyy called on Donald Trump to mediate a ceasefire in the Ukrainian conflict over a telephone conversation on Saturday.

"When a war can be halted in one region, then undoubtedly further hostilities can be halted as well, covering the Russian war," he stated, praising Trump's "exceptional" Gaza peace initiative and requesting the US president to pressure the Moscow into talks.

Russian Strikes Take Victims in Ukraine

Strikes by Russia on Ukraine resulted in the deaths of five people on Saturday and disrupted electricity to areas of the southern Odesa oblast, according to authorities in Ukraine.

A pair of individuals died in a church in the town when it was targeted, according to regional officials.

In the Russian border region of Belgorod, a vehicle operator was fatally wounded by a drone assault, according to regional authorities.

Energy Restoration Operations in the Capital

Work continued on the weekend to recover electricity in Kyiv, after assaults.

Electricity had been recovered to over 800,000 inhabitants by the weekend and the biggest utility provider stated the key efforts to restore power was complete though certain disruptions continued.

Anti-Aircraft Efforts and Drone Downings

Ukraine's defense forces downed or disrupted 54 of 78 total Russian drones sent towards the country in the dark hours, the aerial defense command reported on the weekend.

Russia's defence ministry claimed it intercepted forty-two Ukrainian drones over the country's airspace.

Cuba Denies Claims of Deploying Troops to Ukraine

Havana on the weekend refuted US claims it has deployed soldiers to participate in the Ukraine war, while stating officials in Havana "are without exact details about citizens of Cuba" engaged "independently" or "as part of the armed units of either party".

The ministry in Havana announced twenty-six Cuban citizens had been convicted to prison terms varying between five to 14 years for mercenary activity since September 2023 when reports circulated of Cubans being dispatched to the battlefield in the conflict.

I Want to Live Initiative Reports Information on Cuban National Enlistment

The surrender initiative, a state initiative that urges enemy combatants to give up, stated in spring: "We reliably know the identities and information of over a thousand Cubans who signed contracts with the Russian armed forces in 2023-2024."

The Cuban foreign ministry commented of those who might be engaged: "There is no doubt that none of them have the encouragement, allegiance, or authorization of the Cuban authorities for their activities."

Relatives of Cuban nationals who traveled to Russia in the year told news outlets at the time that their relatives had been tricked into joining through advertisements on digital networks.