The Moscow Oil Refinery burns after Ukraine’s drone strikes, June 18, 2026

Wednesday’s Coverage: Zelensky — Putin “Fears For His Life”

UPDATE 1528 GMT:

At least 12 civilians have been murdered and 100 injured by Russian attacks across Ukraine.

In the Kharkiv region in northeast Ukraine, three people were slain and 50 injured, including four children.

In the Kherson in the south, at least five civilians were killed and at least 29 injured, including a 16-year-old boy.

In the Donetsk Oblast in the east, four people were murdered and seven injured.

Casualties were also reported in the Zaporiizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, and Sumy regions.

UPDATE 0901 GMT:

Ukraine air defenses downed 72 of 94 drones launched by Russia overnight. Two ballistic missiles and 19 UAVs hit 13 locations.

UPDATE 0853 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has hailed the latest strikes inside Russia.

He cited attacks on two oil depots (see Original Entry); a reserve fuel storage facility located around 800 km (500 miles) from the frontline; an oil pumping station in Ufa, almost 1,500 km (932 miles) from the border; and an oil loading terminal in the Rostov region.

UPDATE 0631 GMT:

At least four civilians were murdered and seven wounded by Russian ballistic missile strikes on Odesa in southern Ukraine on Wednesday night.

The attack damaged an infrastructure facility and a gas station. A minibus and fuel pump were set on fire.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: The Kremlin has banned diesel exports amid a fuel crisis sparked by Ukraine’s counter-attacks on Russia’s refineries.

Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told a televised meeting, chaired by Vladimir ⁠Putin, “There are interruptions in fuel supplies caused by changes in logistics….It is clear that the current situation at filling stations is causing concern among the public.” He said the ban will last until at least the end of the month.

Putin acknowledged, “It is clear that the enemy is trying to damage the economy, but most importantly, it is trying to create a nervous situation in society.”

Gasoline exports were banned earlier this spring as the Ukrainian strikes began to cripple domestic supplies. Rationing has been introduced in more than 50 regions. Refineries can now produce lower-grade fuel more toxic to health.

In Crimea, seized by Russia in 2014, fuel sales have been banned except to the military and essential services.

Ukraine has struck all but one of Russia’s major refineries, most of them on several occasions.

Ukrainian strikes overnight targeted oil depots in multiple regions.

Photos and videos on social media showed flames and black smoke rising from a Lukoil-owned depot near the town of Mikhaylovsk in Stavropol Krai.

Stavropol Governor Vladmir Vladimirov confirmed the strike on an “industrial facility”.

Minutes later, residents reported a fire at an oil depot in the city of Tver, around 300 kilometers (190 miles) northwest of Moscow.