Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine would resume its strikes on Russian refineries, confirming that the ban on such attacks had ended. In an interview with the Financial Times published on Thursday, Zelenskyy said: “The ban on refinery strikes is over, it’s done.”
Russia announces strikes on Izmail port and two ships
In a parallel development, Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Telegram that its forces had struck Izmail port in Ukraine’s Odesa region on the Black Sea, along with two cargo ships bound for Odesa. The ministry said the ships were being used for military purposes.
In a statement on Thursday, the ministry said Russian forces had continued overnight drone strikes on Ukrainian port infrastructure facilities, as well as on ships it said were operating on behalf of Ukraine’s armed forces.
The statement added that the strikes targeted Izmail port infrastructure in Odesa region, which Moscow said was being used to unload and store military equipment and dual-use items intended to support Ukraine’s armed forces. Russia’s Defence Ministry also reported striking two cargo ships in the Black Sea, saying they were carrying military consignments to the port of Odesa.
In south-eastern Ukraine, Oleksandr Hanzha, governor of Dnipropetrovsk region, said on Telegram that Russian air raids had killed two people in the region early on Thursday.
