Ukraine hits Russia’s distant gas facilities after Moscow’s attacks kill 6

Ukraine has struck gas facilities in southwest Russia’s Orenburg region, more than 1,500km (932 miles) from the Ukrainian border, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Zelenskyy said in his daily video address on Tuesday evening that the attack was a retaliation for Russia’s overnight attacks on Ukraine. “Ukraine has said that we will act symmetrically in response to Russia,” he said.

Evgeny Solntsev, the governor of Orenburg – home to one of the world’s largest gasfields and containing industrial infrastructure considered vital to Russia’s military and economy – claimed that nine Ukrainian drones were repelled over the region.

The fragments of the downed drones damaged a residential building, a nearby school and a kindergarten, without causing any injuries, he said.

Ukraine’s latest attacks on Russia came hours after Moscow launched a series of overnight attacks on its neighbour, killing six people in the region of Dnipropetrovsk, as the three-day ceasefire brokered by United States President Donald Trump came to an end.

The pause in hostilities coincided with Russia’s Victory Day celebrations, marking the Soviet defeat of Nazi Germany in the second world war. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Kyiv had offered to extend the ceasefire, but Moscow refused.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine had been attacked by more than 200 drones, which damaged energy facilities, apartment buildings, a kindergarten and a civilian train. He added that drones had been intercepted across six regions.

On Tuesday, Russia tested its new nuclear-capable intercontinental missile, which President Vladimir Putin said would be deployed by the end of the year.

Putin described the weapon as the “most powerful” nuclear missile in the world, saying it was capable of travelling more than 35,000 kilometres (21,748 miles).

“It has ‌the ability to penetrate all existing and future anti-missile defence systems,” he said in televised comments.

Analysts have previously accused Putin of exaggerating Russia’s military capabilities.

Peace talks

On Saturday, Putin suggested the war in Ukraine, which began more than four years ago, was nearing its end.

The Kremlin reiterated that claim on Tuesday, with spokesperson Dmitry Peskov saying progress made in talks with both the US and Ukraine would soon bring the conflict to a close, while cautioning that it was too early to provide specifics.

“This accumulated groundwork in terms of the peace process allows us ‌to say that the completion is indeed approaching,” Peskov told reporters.

Zelenskyy, however, disagreed a day earlier and warned that Ukraine was preparing for further attacks. “Russia has no intention of ending this war. And we are, unfortunately, preparing for new attacks,” he said.

Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, said Putin’s comments were a sign of weakness.

“What his statement really shows is that he’s not in a strong position,” she said. “So, I think there’s an opportunity for ending this war.”

Talks aimed at ending the conflict have so far failed to achieve a significant breakthrough, stalling in recent months. US President Donald Trump made ending what has become a war of attrition a key pledge during his 2024 election campaign.

On Tuesday, as he left the White House for a trip to China, Trump told reporters, “The end of the war in Ukraine, I really think ⁠it’s getting very close.”

On Monday, the Kyiv Independent newspaper reported that Washington was attempting to negotiate another temporary ceasefire that would include sanctions relief for Russia.

Ukrainian officials are reportedly concerned that the proposed agreement does not include security guarantees, which Kyiv views as essential to deterring future aggression from Moscow.