On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on his American counterpart, Donald Trump, to impose “severe” sanctions on Russia immediately, to limit its ability to produce missiles, in light of the intensification of the exchange of strikes in the war.
Zelensky said, during the “Yalta European Strategy” forum in Kiev: “Sanctions must be imposed from now.” These penalties must be strict (...) Sometimes I do not understand why decisions cannot be made quickly.”
Zelensky stressed that “measures aimed at restricting the production of ballistic missiles and related weapons must be taken without delay,” considering that “it is important for the American administration to take firm decisions, personal decisions from President Trump,” according to Agence France-Presse.
During a visit to Canada this week, Zelensky hinted that he expected to meet Trump in New York in late September.
Two Trump envoys visited Kiev and Moscow this month in an attempt to revive diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine, which have faltered for months as Washington abandons the war in the Middle East.
Russia and Ukraine have been intensifying long-range strikes for months, targeting civilian sites such as factories, refineries, warehouses, infrastructure in the energy and port sectors, in addition to ships.
وتخشى أوكرانيا، التي تفتقر إلى الوسائل الكفيلة بالتصدي للصواريخ الروسية، أيضًا حلول فصل الشتاء، وهي فترة حرجة قد تتمكن خلالها موسكو من إلحاق أضرار جسيمة ببناها التحتية في مجال الطاقة، كما حدث في عام 2025.
Two people were killed and nine injured, Friday, in a series of Russian strikes with marches targeting several gas stations in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, according to what President Volodymyr Zelensky announced.
وكتب زيلينسكي، على منصة «إكس»: «استهدف الروس بصورة متعمدة طوال النهار محطات وقود في كييف» معلنًا مقتل شخصين «إثر هذه الضربات وحدها».
He also pointed out that a relief worker was injured in a “double strike,” when the same site is targeted twice in a row, according to a tactic that may constitute a war crime when it targets civilians.
The Ukrainian oil company "Ukrnafta" announced that two of its gas stations were subjected to two simultaneous strikes on Friday morning, according to Agence France-Presse.
“These are another deliberate strike on civilian facilities that provide people with fuel and basic goods,” CEO Bohdan Kokura wrote on social media. He added: “There is no military target in such attacks. This is terrorism directed against the civilian population.”
Zelensky condemned the “Russian escalation,” at a time when Kiev has been subjected for weeks to Russian attacks with a new type of faster drones equipped with jet engines, which were also used to target logistics centers and warehouses.
The speed of these aircraft is about 600 kilometers per hour. Which makes interception by Ukrainian air defense systems more difficult.
“The main goal of these strikes is to paralyze economic activity and make transporting anything anywhere an extremely difficult task,” Igor Kozy, a military expert at the Institute for Euro-Atlantic Cooperation in Kiev, told local television.
Russia vowed, on Friday, to direct its nuclear warheads towards Lithuania if the Baltic Sea country hosts on its territory any weapons from the nuclear arsenals of its allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Lithuania is seeking to lift a constitutional ban that includes storing nuclear weapons on its territory, as part of efforts to strengthen its deterrence and security capabilities as the Russian attack on Ukraine continues, according to what Agence France-Presse reported.
Parliament is currently considering making a decision in this regard, knowing that it has the support of the President and the major parties. Repealing the ban requires the support of two-thirds of Parliament members, and it may come into effect next winter if approved.
وقال المتحدث باسم الكرملين دميتري بيسكوف للتلفزيون الرسمي، ردًا على سؤال بشأن هذا الموضوع، إن ذلك سيمثل «منعطفًا خطيرًا للغاية من حيث تصعيد التوتر».
He added: “If nuclear weapons are found on territory directed against us, the territory of that country will, accordingly, fall within the targeting range of our nuclear weapons.”
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausěda announced this project in July, saying that his country wanted to be “an integral part of this nuclear deterrent.”
