Ukrainian strikes set off fires at oil facilities in Russia and Crimea
[June 09, 2026]
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian forces struck oil facilities in Russia
and occupied Ukraine, Ukrainian and Russian officials said Monday, as
part of their campaign to make Moscow pay an economic cost for the war.
Separately, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has confirmed that
Roman Abramovich acted as a go-between for messages between Kyiv and
Moscow. Zelenskyy told Sky News that the former owner of Premier League
team Chelsea traveled to Kyiv with a message from Russian President
Vladimir Putin.
Zelenskyy said Abramovich brought the message that the Russians “want to
understand what we are ready to do,” and had offered to take a reply to
Putin.
Meanwhile, the European Union’s foreign policy chief said a new proposed
round of sanctions against Russia includes 80 listings targeting
Russia’s “military industrial complex, human rights violators and
propagandists.”
Kaja Kallas told a news conference after a meeting of EU defense
ministers Monday that Western sanctions have already cost Moscow an
estimated $1.2 to 1.5 trillion.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces shot down 310 Ukrainian drones
overnight into Monday, including over the Moscow region, western and
southwestern Russia, Russian-occupied Crimea and the Black and Azov
seas.
Russia targeted Ukraine with 155 drones, of which Ukrainian air defenses
shot down or suppressed 124, according to its air force.
Ukraine strikes Russian energy sites
Ukraine’s General Staff said Ukrainian forces had struck Russia’s
Krasnodar Krai region overnight, hitting the Grushovaya oil
transshipment base near Novorossiysk. The complex is one of the largest
transshipment hubs in southern Russia for oil and petroleum products.
Russian regional authorities confirmed a Ukrainian drone sparked a fire
at the facility, adding that there were no casualties. While they did
not comment on the extent of damage, they said 130 rescue workers were
involved in putting out the blaze.
Asked whether the Kremlin is worried about the fuel crisis in Crimea,
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Energy Ministry and other
agencies are working on a set of measures to respond to the situation.
“There are indeed certain problems at the moment,” Peskov said.
“Measures are being taken.”
The Krasny Yar “linear production and dispatching station” in the
Volgograd region was also hit, the General Staff said. A fire broke out
at the site, according to the statement. Russian Gov. Andrei Bocharov
didn’t specify what the facility produces, but said there were no
injuries.
Ukraine also carried out strikes overnight in the Semykolodezkaya oil
base in the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula on Sunday night, sparking
a fire at the facility. The base is used to store fuel reserves
supplying the Russian military, according to the statement posted on
Telegram.
Ukrainian forces also struck an oil depot near Feodosia in Crimea, the
General Staff said.
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People light up flares during the funeral ceremony of fallen
Ukrainian serviceman of 3rd assault brigade Yaroslav Ivanov in Kyiv,
Ukraine, Monday, June 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)
Zelenskyy sent message to Putin
Zelenskyy said his message was that he would meet Putin “any time”
in any location other than Russia or Belarus, and either bilaterally
or with U.S. President Donald Trump and European leaders.
But he said Ukraine would not surrender the Donbas region, currently
part-occupied by Russia.
“It was the key message. I said we will not leave and we will not go
out from our territory,” Zelenskyy told Sky News.
Putin said last week that a Russian businessman, who he didn’t
identify, traveled to Kyiv last month and met with Zelenskyy to hear
his offer of a personal meeting. The Russian leader rejected the
idea of a meeting, saying he saw no point in it.
Drone strikes civilians
Two people were killed and at least 18 injured, including four
children aged 5, 10, 13 and 12, by a Russian drone attack in the
central Zaporizhzhia region that damaged residential buildings and
vehicles and destroyed market kiosks, said the regional military
administration head, Ivan Fedorov.
In Nikopol. a Russian attack killed a 49-year-old woman and injured
four other people, according to the State Emergency Service.
The service also reported that four people were injured in the
Dnipropetrovsk region when strikes hit residential buildings. In
Odesa, three people were wounded after a Russian drone struck a
public transport stop.
Russian drone strikes overnight also injured civilians and damaged
buildings and businesses in the Kharkiv, Odesa and Chernihiv
regions, regional authorities said.
Meanwhile, a Ukrainian drone overnight struck a passenger train
traveling from Moscow to Simferopol in occupied Crimea, injuring the
driver and killing the driver’s assistant, Kremlin-installed
regional leader Sergei Aksyonov reported early Monday.
Akysyonov added that no passengers were hurt. But all passenger
train traffic in Crimea was halted following the attack, with
passengers evacuated and replacement buses provided, Russian
operator Grand Service Express reported on Telegram that same
morning.
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