Russia; Ukraine: Ukrainian forces struck a key Russian oil dispatch station in Samara Oblast on Saturday, while Russia said that its troops captured two settlements in the Kharkiv region.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that it targeted the Samara facility for the second time in a week, with the specific damage still being assessed.
The station is a critical hub in Russia's Urals crude export system, receiving, storing and blending crude of varying quality into a uniform grade for distribution to domestic refineries or export terminals.
Ukraine said the facility also supports Russian military operations. The facility previously suffered extensive damage on October 7, when an earlier Ukrainian attack destroyed four storage tanks and ignited a massive blaze.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday that Ukraine will continue launching long-range strikes in response to Russian attacks. Russia has not yet responded.
The latest strikes drew a sharp rebuke from US President Donald Trump, who said Saturday that he had previously warned Zelenskyy against hitting Russian refineries and said that the Ukrainian leader "had better stop right away."
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Insisting that such attacks exacerbate global fuel shortages and drive up US diesel prices, Trump went further to say that "Ukraine should get a new president," implying that Zelenskyy has failed to do enough to end the conflict.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine also said that Ukrainian forces destroyed substantial Russian military equipment, including tanks, artillery systems, and air defence systems.
Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defence reported battlefield advances, saying Russian forces took control of the settlements of Lukashovo and Lobanovka in the Kharkiv region.
Russia also said it struck energy infrastructure used by Ukraine's military-industrial complex, drone manufacturing workshops and storage sites, as well as temporary deployment areas for Ukrainian troops and foreign mercenaries.
Russian forces also shot down two US-made HIMARS rockets and 725 fixed-wing drones.
