Russia Must ‘Feel the War It Started,’ Zelensky Says, Ordering Preemptive Strikes on Russian Sites
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine’s strikes on Russian military, energy and logistics targets are a response to Moscow’s attacks on Ukrainian cities and villages. He said Ukrainian forces are targeting facilities that sustain Russia’s war effort, including ammunition depots, military product
Kyiv Post
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President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine will carry out preemptive strikes on facilities Russia uses to expand its war, framing Kyiv’s long-range campaign as a calculated effort to make Moscow pay for continued attacks on Ukrainian cities and occupation of Ukrainian land.
“I instructed our intelligence services and military to act preemptively against facilities Russia uses to expand its war effort,” Zelensky said in his evening address.
The statement came as Ukraine intensifies strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, logistics networks and military production sites in an effort to increase pressure on Moscow and force it toward peace talks.
The Ukrainian leader framed the campaign as a direct response to Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities and villages, citing strikes over the past day throughout the Sumy, Kharkiv, Poltava, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions.
“This Russian cruelty and aggression is the root cause of the war,” he said. “And it is important that Russians feel that this war exists – and that it exists because of them.”
Russian military logistics on temporarily occupied Ukrainian territory have become increasingly difficult, according to Zelensky, who called it a necessary signal to Moscow.
“This is the right signal to Russia,” he said. “A signal that Russia will not be able to steal the land of the Ukrainian people – or any other people threatened by Russian ambitions – easily and without punishment.”
A senior US State Department authority, Jeremy Levin, says Ukraine has “turned the situation around” and is currently in a phase where it is winning the war against Russia.
Ukraine targets what sustains the war
Ukrainian forces are now targeting facilities in occupied Ukrainian territory and inside Russia that sustain Moscow’s war effort, the president said.
“Our military is now knocking out, on the temporarily occupied land of Ukraine and on the territory of Russia itself, what works for Russia’s war – what makes this war and Russian aggression possible in the first place,” he said.
He described Ukraine’s operations, including those involving Crimea, as “clearly calculated,” and argued that modern technology is making occupation increasingly costly for the occupying force.
“Modern technologies make occupation too difficult for the occupier,” he said, adding that Ukraine will continue strengthening its technological base.
The president also linked the campaign to discussions with partners during the G7 summit, saying that if Ukraine receives what was discussed there, Kyiv can quickly create conditions in which Russia is forced to choose peace.
“We very much count on a positive response from our partners,” he said. “They clearly know what this is about.”
Ukraine’s ‘long-range sanctions’
Ukrainian intelligence has obtained internal Russian documents showing how Moscow itself assesses the impact of Ukraine’s long-range and medium-range strikes, according to the president.
“Our pressure plan is being painfully felt by the Russian leadership,” Zelensky said.
Kyiv is also striking military production facilities, including sites that manufacture critical components for the missiles Russia uses to attack Ukrainian cities, villages, energy infrastructure and civilian life.
Zelensky cited a plant in Cheboksary as another target, saying it had been struck by Ukraine’s Flamingo missile.
“We are reaching more and more of Russia’s military logistics,” he said.
The president also reported confirmed strikes on gas facilities in Russia’s Orenburg region, more than 1,200 kilometers from the front line, as well as oil facilities across Russia.
Ukrainian forces have also hit Russian military communication centers, which he described as strategically important for attacks against Ukraine and for Russian threats against the wider world.
Russia pulls air defenses to protect power
Russia’s leadership is now pulling more air defense systems toward Moscow, Valdai and the Kerch Bridge at the expense of other regions, according to Zelensky.
He said Russia has moved hundreds of S-400, S-500 and Pantsir launchers to the Moscow region, while nearly 90 air defense launchers have been transferred to Valdai.
“They are protecting their power, protecting the source of this war,” he said.
The redeployment, in Kyiv’s view, shows that Russia’s leadership is prioritizing politically sensitive sites while leaving other areas more exposed.
Pressure across Russia
More than 60 Russian regions are already experiencing fuel shortages, while gasoline and diesel prices are rising sharply – where fuel is available at all, Zelensky said.
Russian security services are already proposing to postpone or cancel what Zelensky called the “ritual” of United Russia’s election to the State Duma, which had been planned for September.
“Now we see from intelligence reports that Russia is not confident about the processes in September,” he said. “There are many complications.”
He blamed those complications on Putin’s refusal to end the war and his rejection of Ukraine’s proposals for a meeting, real negotiations and a dignified peace.
“Peace must be guaranteed. This is the most important task,” Zelensky said.
More drone deals
The president also reported receiving an update from the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces on Ukraine’s active operations at the front and approving further actions.
Kyiv is preparing additional “drone deals” with partners and implementing agreements already reached, he said.
“The volume of drone production must increase,” Zelensky said.
Ukraine never wanted the war and has sought peace from the first day, the president stressed.
“We want justice for Ukraine. We want guaranteed security,” he said. “The Russian leadership knows that a dignified peace is possible. It knows that occupation cannot be legalized.”
