Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Sunday it intended to intensify strikes on Kyiv and other Ukrainian areas, in response to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s announcement that his country would step up attacks on Russian oil refineries, while Ukraine considers four proposals for partial truces covering energy facilities and the Black Sea.
Russia announces expanded strikes as Ukraine responds
The ministry said Russian forces would step up targeting what it called “military and industrial facilities”, along with related infrastructure. The announcement followed remarks by Zelenskyy on Saturday that Ukraine would increase attacks on refineries in response to what he called Moscow’s “new doctrine”.
Zelenskyy said that doctrine, in his view, involved intensifying attacks on civilian infrastructure to force residents of Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities to leave. He stressed at the same time that Ukrainian forces would not target civilians during their operations. In recent days, bridges in the Ukrainian capital have become among the targets of Russian strikes.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said a Russian strike hit the northern bridge over the Dnipro River on Sunday, damaging the road and injuring two people, as well as damaging a hot-water system. Russia’s Defence Ministry said it had struck the bridge because, according to its account, it was used to transport troops and military shipments.
The ministry also announced that two cargo ships had been targeted, saying they were carrying military equipment towards the port of Odesa. Sunday’s strike followed Russian attacks on Friday that led to the complete or partial closure of three bridges in Kyiv and caused traffic congestion. At a joint press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Zelenskyy said: “They are bombing the bridges. Do they really think we will not respond?”, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin “wants to weaken Ukraine’s ability to withstand the war as much as possible”.
German arms agreement during Merz’s visit
The escalation on the ground coincided with an unannounced visit by Merz to Kyiv, where air-raid sirens sounded and explosions were heard during his presence in the capital. Ukraine and Germany signed an arms deal during the visit estimated to be worth about $1.5 billion.
The package includes military aid worth €1 billion, along with €350 million allocated to repairing Ukraine’s damaged energy network. The agreement also covers the joint production of drones designed to intercept Russian jet-powered drones, as well as the development and production of weapons with a range exceeding 1,000 kilometres.
Partial truce proposals on Kyiv’s table
Merz visited the building of the National Academy of Sciences, which was damaged by a Russian strike that killed two people. During the visit, he addressed the Russian president, saying: “Mr Putin, put an end to this senseless war.” On the diplomatic front, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Kyiv had received proposals for partial truces from the United States, India, Türkiye and Egypt.
He said his country was ready for a simultaneous truce covering energy facilities and the Black Sea, as well as an unconditional ceasefire along the entire front line. Sybiha described the Indian proposal as “the broadest”, explaining that Türkiye and Egypt had proposed a truce in the Black Sea, while the United States had put forward a plan to halt attacks on energy facilities.
He added that an energy truce would mean a complete halt to attacks on all facilities in the sector, including infrastructure located at ports. Kyiv said it was ready to stop striking Russian oil refineries if attacks on Ukraine’s electricity network ceased, alongside a halt to targeting cargo ships in the Black Sea.
Efforts to hold a trilateral meeting before the end of October
Putin rejected the idea at the Valdai Forum last Thursday of exchanging a halt to attacks on Russian refineries for a cessation of attacks on ships, saying: “That is simply absurd.” Zelenskyy said US peace envoys were working to arrange a trilateral meeting at technical level by the end of October.
He added that Kyiv was open to holding the meeting in the United Arab Emirates or another country, but its date had not yet been set, while reciprocal strikes continued without an agreement on a partial or comprehensive ceasefire.
