Ukrainian drones hit more Russian oil facilities and set two oil tankers ablaze in the Sea of Azov, a day after US President Donald Trump pledged to grant Kyiv a license to manufacture the Patriot air defence systems to protect its cities.
A top Ukrainian official, meanwhile, cautioned that it could take a year or more for the country to produce Patriot interceptor missiles.
The Kremlin said the license deal reflected what it called Washington's "ambivalence" but noted it appreciated Trump's efforts to help broker a peace deal to end the war, which Russia launched over four years ago.
Ukraine's drone strikes on oil refineries and other infrastructure across Russia have triggered a widespread fuel crisis with gasoline shortages and rationing in multiple regions and motorists waiting for hours to fill their tanks. Moscow has responded by intensifying its bombardment on Kyiv and other cities, exposing Ukraine's vulnerability to ballistic missile strikes.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the latest strikes on Russia's infrastructure as part of Kyiv's campaign of "long-range sanctions" carried out in response to Moscow's refusal to halt the fighting.
"We have long proposed that Russia end this war, and every day of delay should bring the feeling of war to where it all began — to Russia," Zelensky said.
Ukraine hits oil depots in western Russia and tankers at sea
A Ukrainian drone strike sparked a fire at an oil depot in the western Russian city of Tver, according to acting Governor Vitaly Korolyov. Oil reservoirs also were set ablaze by drones in Vyazniki, in the southern Stavropol region, said Governor Vladimir Vladimirov, forcing the evacuation of nearby apartment buildings.
In the Sea of Azov, Ukrainian drones set two oil tankers on fire, according to Rostov Gov. Yuri Slusar, who said one of the ships was still burning and its crew evacuated.
It was the latest in a series of strikes on oil tankers in recent days, part of Ukrainian efforts to cut fuel supplies to the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014.
In addition to the Stavropol and Tver facilities, Zelensky said Ukrainian forces hit fuel infrastructure deep inside Russia, including one in Ufa, as well as an oil-loading terminal in the Rostov region closer to Ukraine.
Russia's Defense Ministry said its defences downed 73 Ukrainian drones from late Wednesday into early Thursday.
Ukraine's air force said Russia fired 94 long-range strike drones and two ballistic missiles. While 72 drones were jammed or intercepted, 19 drones and both missiles damaged 13 locations, it said.
Ukraine says its Patriot production will take months
During Wednesday's meeting with Zelensky on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Turkey, Trump said the US will meet a longstanding request from Ukraine and give it a licence to make the Patriot air defence systems. He also praised Zelensky for doing "an amazing job" — a sharp change in tone from past criticisms of the Ukrainian leader.
But setting up domestic production of the mobile, surface-to-air systems will take many months, said Serhii Beskrestnov, an adviser to Ukraine's defence minister.
A production license would typically come with technical process documentation, training for specialists, supplier contacts and foreign consultants to help launch manufacturing, Beskrestnov wrote on his Telegram channel.
The main obstacle would be time, rather than Ukraine's technical or organisational capacity, he added.
Recent media reports pointed to two likely bottlenecks: the long production cycle for some subcontracted components, which could take 12 to 24 months, and limited global output of key parts, including components from Boeing and L3Harris, Beskrestnov added.
The Pentagon had signed contracts to expand production capacity, he said, but added that the timeline for those contracts to translate into increased output remained unclear.
"America has recognized Ukraine as a country that is ready to do this," Zelensky said Thursday, answering reporters' questions on WhatsApp. "Now, after our agreement with the president, our teams, our diplomats, the foreign ministries and defense ministries need to agree on all the remaining technical details. The sooner we reach those agreements, the sooner we will be able to produce Patriots."
Germany also has a license to produce Patriot systems, and in 2022, Raytheon and MBDA Deutschland announced they planned to manufacture Patriot GEM-T missiles in the country, according to a news release at the time. The goal was to produce them in a German facility and ultimately provide them to other European allies.
The facility is expected to open in September with its first missiles scheduled to be delivered next year, with Ukraine as the first recipient, according to Defense Express, an online Ukrainian military-oriented publication.
Kremlin says Ukrainian strikes won't hasten peace
Commenting on Trump's statement about the Patriot licenses, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov offered a vague response, saying Moscow is aware of the US military support for Ukraine but appreciates Washington's declared commitment to help achieve peace.
"The US position is somewhat ambivalent," Peskov said in a call with reporters.
"Still, unlike the Europeans, the United States maintains a desire to facilitate a move toward a peace process. They may be misguided or mistaken at times, but we see that desire as sincere. We welcome it, and we hope that once the Americans manage to resolve the situation regarding Iran despite the significant complications involved their efforts on the Ukrainian track will resume."
Asked about Trump's comment that Ukrainian attacks inside Russia could hasten a peace settlement, Peskov reaffirmed that the more strikes Kyiv launches, the broader "security zone" Moscow will seek to carve out in Ukraine via what the Kremlin calls its "special military operation".
"It's a mistake to think that escalation and military pressure could pave the way to a peaceful settlement," he said.
"Further escalation may prolong the special military operation, we can't say precisely to what extent, but it will force us to create a larger security zone, a larger buffer zone."
Ukraine has urged the US and other allies to provide binding security guarantees as part of any prospective peace deal, including the deployment of NATO forces. Russia has strongly warned against the presence of any NATO troops in Ukraine, saying it would view them as legitimate targets.
Asked Wednesday if he would be ready to enact a no-fly zone over Ukraine as part of security guarantees, Trump responded by saying "if it's necessary, yeah," but he argued it might not be needed if a peace deal is reached.
"When we have a deal, we're going to have a deal, security guarantee or no security guarantee," Trump said as he sat next to Zelensky.
Commenting on the issue, Peskov warned that an attempt to establish a no-fly zone would amount to "NATO military forces being active on the territory of Ukraine -- exactly what the special military operation is being waged against."
Peskov said President Vladimir Putin is "open to dialogue" and ready for another phone call with Trump.
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