US President Donald Trump privately told Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky to act 'more boldly' in attacks on Russian infrastructure, according to a senior Ukrainian official briefed on their recent meeting. The official, speaking to the Kyiv Independent, said Trump expressed skepticism that Russian President Vladimir Putin would negotiate without pressure.
Trump's Private Message to Zelensky
'Trump says he doesn't really believe Putin will do anything without pressure,' the official quoted. The conversation occurred amid stalled diplomatic efforts to end the conflict, now in its fourth year. At the G7 summit in France last week, Trump publicly stated that Moscow should 'make a deal' to end the war, noting heavy losses on both sides.
Ukraine's Intensified Drone Campaign
Ukraine has escalated long-range drone strikes targeting Russian oil facilities and infrastructure in Crimea. Ukrainian Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said Kyiv is 'isolating Crimea with drones,' predicting the peninsula could become an island, leading to 'very unexpected consequences for Russians.'
On Monday, Ukraine struck a railway bridge across the North Crimean Canal near Rozdolne, described as a key logistics route for Russian forces in southern Ukraine. Drones hit the structure late Sunday into Monday, causing a partial collapse. A second strike on Tuesday targeted repair equipment, the military said on Telegram. Russian officials did not comment.
Crimea Strikes and Power Outages
Over the weekend, Ukraine's Defence Ministry reported drone attacks on an oil storage depot at the Kerch thermal power plant, an electrical substation in western Crimea, and a liquefied natural gas distribution station in Simferopol. Parts of Crimea experienced power outages on Tuesday, which the region's energy supplier attributed to 'technical malfunctions,' expecting restoration within 24 hours.
Kyiv said on Tuesday that its forces struck a railway bridge, a power plant, and other key infrastructure in Crimea, aiming to isolate the peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.
Deep Strikes Inside Russia
Ukraine has also intensified drone strikes deep inside Russia. Zelensky said on Saturday that drones hit an oil refinery in Russia's Tyumen region, over 1,200 miles from Ukraine. The Tyumen refinery has a nominal capacity of about eight million metric tonnes per year, processing roughly six million tonnes of crude annually, producing about 0.5 million tonnes of petrol and 2.5 million tonnes of diesel, according to Reuters.
On Thursday, Ukraine struck the Moscow refinery, just nine miles from the Kremlin, for the second time that week and the third time in a month. The attack was part of one of the largest drone assaults on the Russian capital since the war began.
Russian Retaliation
In recent weeks, Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukraine. Regional authorities reported on Tuesday that Russian strikes across the country killed at least five people and injured 49 others in the past 24 hours.
