June 1 (Reuters) – President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday that Ukraine’s military was now capable of hitting Russian logistics throughout occupied areas of Ukraine and had created shortages of fuel in Crimea and other Russian-held regions.
“Our troops are now capable of reaching Russian military logistics across virtually the entire depth of the temporarily occupied territories,” Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.
“In practice, there are almost no safe roads left for the occupier in the south and east of our country.”
Ukraine in recent months has stepped up strikes on medium-range targets as well as others many hundreds of kilometres from Ukraine’s borders, focusing on Russia’s oil industry.
Zelenskiy said that from January to May, Ukrainian forces had struck 15 Russian oil refineries.
Ukraine’s actions, he said, provided “further proof that there will be no peaceful times for the occupier on our land.”
“This is also reflected in shortages, above all fuel shortages in Crimea and in other areas that remain under occupation.”
Drivers in Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014, were confronted with gasoline rationing on Monday after Ukrainian drone attacks constricted road supplies across south-eastern Ukraine.
(Reporting by Ron Popeski and Oleksandr Kozhukhar; Editing by Chris Reese)
