(KYIV, UKRAINE) – Ukrainian drones reportedly struck a logistics centre belonging to Russian online retailer Ozon in Orenburg overnight, as Kyiv continues its campaign of long-range attacks inside Russian territory.
Social media footage appeared to show smoke rising from the Ozon warehouse, though the reports have not been independently verified and Ukraine has not commented officially.
The reported attack comes one day after another strike on an Ozon facility in Russia’s Samara region, where Ukrainian forces targeted a fulfilment centre in Chapayevsk using long-range FP-1 drones manufactured by Ukrainian company Fire Point.
In Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with former US envoy Keith Kellogg on Saturday to discuss Ukraine’s urgent need for air defence missiles.
The meeting follows France pledging to speed up deliveries of air defence missiles to Ukraine and help Kyiv secure additional Patriot interceptors as Russia steps up ballistic missile attacks on Ukrainian cities.
Four and a half years into Russia’s war in Ukraine, pressure is being felt at home, with fuel shortages worsening and Russians withdrawing billions from banks.
Petrol is available at only 28 percent of service stations across Russia, down from 41 percent a short time ago, according to reports cited by TVP World.
Experts suggest that Russians may be increasingly weary of their leader, with recent polling showing approximately 65 to 66 percent of Russians want to see an end to the war and some kind of settlement.
“Putin defended himself through initiating a serious war in order to stay in power,” one expert stated. “The people tried to employ other self-defensive strategies, not publicly protesting but showing quiet resistance, quiet protest by trying to save their economic assets from the state which they more and more consider to be predatory.”
Analysts note that Russia’s current strategy is not working, with costs remaining significant while gains on the front line are diminishing.
“I don’t think Russia’s strategy is working. The costs for Russia are still quite significant and the gains they’re achieving in this war are really diminishing,” an expert said.
For the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, the cost of ending the war may be politically greater than continuing it.
“Once the special military operation ends, what will we do then? We’ve become so consumed by it,” the report noted, suggesting that a war for war’s sake is expected to continue alongside Putin’s 25-year grip on power.
“I am confident that the upcoming parliamentary elections will confirm the stability of the state and the maturity of our political system,” Putin stated.
As has been the case since the beginning of this century, when Russians go to the polls in September, the indicator of stability will be seen as Putin preserving control of the Kremlin.
The report was presented by TVP World, Poland’s English-language channel, with reporting from Zuzanna Nayurak.
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