The key facts

  • Putin: Russia is responding to strikes on Wildberries, Ozon, energy and data centers, claiming Ukraine struck first
  • Novak reported attacks on refineries in the Saratov and Ryazan regions; Putin called the damage insignificant
  • Peskov: strikes on refineries contradict US peace initiatives; contacts on the energy truce continue

Putin on retaliatory strikes

Speaking via video link at the Delovaya Rossiya forum on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow is responding to Ukrainian attacks on energy infrastructure and e-commerce platforms. According to him, Russia responded to the strikes on Wildberries and Ozon, and Kyiv, he claimed, is seeking Western support to force Moscow to stop its retaliatory strikes. 'They made the first move, and we began to respond. Now they are complaining about strikes on other targets, including energy infrastructure and data centers. They started it. They should not have. They should have thought carefully about the consequences before taking that step,' Anadolu quoted Putin as saying.

Strikes on oil refineries

Putin added that Ukraine continued to attack Russian energy infrastructure and that attempts were made on Wednesday to strike several refineries. According to him, some facilities were hit, but the damage is insignificant. The day before, on Wednesday, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak reported attacks on refineries in the Saratov and Ryazan regions.

Context of truce talks

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Ukraine's strikes on Russian refineries contradict US peace initiatives. On Sunday, Donald Trump announced on his social network Truth Social that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an immediate cessation of strikes on each other's energy infrastructure. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv is ready to stop strikes on Russian refineries if Moscow halts attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, stressing that de-escalation must be mutual and backed by guarantees. Peskov also said that contacts with the US on the proposed energy truce are continuing.