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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had instructed Ukraine's intelligence services and military to "act in advance" against Russian facilities used to expand Moscow's war effort.
In a late Wednesday video address, Zelenskyy said he had received a briefing from Defense Intelligence Chief Oleh Ivashchenko, including on Ukraine's strikes against Russian energy facilities.
Zelenskyy claimed Ukrainian intelligence had obtained "some internal Russian documents" showing that the strikes were being "felt painfully" by Moscow.
He said Ukraine had hit several targets, including some that were more than 1,200 kilometers from the front line. He also said Russian army communication centers had been struck.
"I instructed our intelligence and our army to act in advance against the facilities the Russians use to scale up the war," Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy claimed Moscow was moving more air defense assets to the Russian capital, the town of Valdai and the Kerch Bridge, which was built after Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea to connect the peninsula with mainland Russia.
He also claimed that more than 60 Russian regions were experiencing fuel shortages.
Recent Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian oil refineries have forced several facilities to suspend operations for maintenance, prompting Moscow to periodically impose restrictions aimed at stabilizing the domestic fuel market.
Restrictions on fuel sales have recently been imposed by local authorities in several regions, including Tyumen and Tatarstan.
In Crimea, Russian-installed officials announced over the weekend that fuel sales to individuals and businesses had been suspended entirely, with supplies reserved for essential public services.
Earlier this month, Ukraine's General Staff claimed its forces had struck 16 major Russian oil refineries and fuel terminals, taking more than 30% of refining capacity offline.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday accused Ukraine of trying to disrupt Russia's energy sector and tourism industry through military strikes.
Speaking at a meeting with government officials, Putin accused Ukraine of deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure as Russian forces advance on the battlefield.
"We know and see that the Kyiv regime, as the situation on the front rapidly deteriorates, as the enemy loses territory after territory, and our fighters occupy one populated area after another, has adopted the tactic of attacking our civilian facilities, our civilian infrastructure," Putin said.
Putin ordered the government, and specifically the Defense Ministry, to take measures to minimize the impact of Ukrainian attacks on civilian infrastructure.
Restrictions on fuel sales have been imposed across Saratov, Tver, Omsk, Voronezh, Crimea and Tatarstan regions following recent Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian oil refineries.
Putin also said Tuesday that Russia was ready for negotiations with Ukraine based on the Anchorage and Istanbul agreements and "realities on the ground."
Speaking at the same meeting with government officials, Putin said the negotiation process had been interrupted at Ukraine's initiative.
"Russia is ready for peace talks with Ukraine—based on the agreements reached in Istanbul ... on the modalities discussed in Anchorage, and, most importantly, on the realities on the ground," he said.
Russia and Ukraine held three rounds of renewed peace talks last year in Istanbul, on May 16, June 2 and July 23. The talks produced major prisoner swaps and draft memorandums outlining both sides' positions for a potential peace deal.
The U.S. and Russian presidents later met in Anchorage, Alaska, leading to a 28-point peace plan that was revised to 20 points. Ukraine, however, is said to have rejected any territorial concessions.
Under U.S. mediation, Moscow and Kyiv also held three rounds of peace talks earlier this year on Jan. 23-24, Feb. 4-5 and Feb. 17-18. The first two rounds were held in Abu Dhabi, while the third took place in Geneva. The process halted after the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
In spring 2022, a draft peace treaty between Russia and Ukraine, agreed during in-person negotiations, was initialed in Istanbul.
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