April 29 (Reuters) – President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday that Ukraine would keep increasing the range of its strikes in Russia, posting footage of what he said was an attack on a target at a distance of more than 1,500 km (930 miles).
Ukraine has stepped up its attacks inside Russia in recent weeks, aiming to knock out oil refineries, depots and ports and cripple Moscow’s biggest source of funding for its war in Ukraine as global prices rose due to the Iran war.
Zelenskiy said Ukraine’s security service had reported a successful strike deep inside Russia, calling it “a new stage in the use of Ukrainian weapons to limit the potential of Russia’s war” in a post on X.
The Ukrainian president posted a video of smoke billowing into the sky, but did not identify the target that was hit. “The straight-line distance is over 1,500 kilometres. We will continue to extend these ranges,” he added.
Ukraine’s Security Service, the SBU, said in a later post its drones struck a Russian oil pumping station near the city of Perm overnight, some 1,500 km from Ukraine.
On Tuesday, a Ukrainian drone attack caused a major fire at a Russian oil refinery in the Black Sea port of Tuapse, a third attack on the refinery in less than two weeks.
Russian President Vladimir Putin described the attack as evidence of increased Ukrainian attacks on civilian targets.
Ukraine’s Defence Ministry said that since 2022, when Russia launched the full-scale invasion of its neighbour, Ukraine has increased the range of its strikes against Russia by 170%.
Ukraine has built up a stock of domestically produced long-range weapons since the 2022 invasion.
In February, Ukrainian drones struck the Ukhta refinery in Russia’s Komi region, some 1,750 km from the Ukrainian border, regional officials said.
“It is important that every strike reduces the capabilities of Russia’s military industry, logistics, and oil exports,” Zelenskiy added.
(Reporting by Anna Pruchnicka; Editing by Alex Richardson)
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