Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday that Ukrainian forces had struck 16 targets across Russia over the previous 24 hours, including oil facilities, airfields, a missile unit and military logistics infrastructure.

In a statement posted on social media, Zelensky described the strikes as part of Ukraine's effort to increase the cost of Russia's war and reduce Moscow's ability to sustain military operations.

“Over the past day, our warriors imposed sanctions on 16 targets in Russia,” Zelensky said, referring particularly to long-range strikes against oil facilities, which he described as “Russia's oil wallet that finances the war.”

He said Ukrainian forces had also targeted airfields, a missile unit and infrastructure that Russia regularly uses to launch attacks against Ukraine. Military enterprises and logistics facilities were also among the targets, according to the Ukrainian president.

Ukraine's General Staff separately confirmed that Ukrainian forces had struck the Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez refinery in Kstovo, Nizhny Novgorod region, one of Russia's major oil-processing facilities.

Ukrainian authorities said the strike caused a fire at the refinery and that an assessment of the damage was underway. Ukrainian military sources described the facility as one of Russia's largest refineries, with annual processing capacity of up to 17 million tonnes of crude oil.

The refinery produces gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel, among other petroleum products, making oil infrastructure a strategically important component of Ukraine's campaign against Russia's energy sector.

Zelensky framed the latest strikes as a response to continued Russian attacks on Ukrainian territory.

“The war must return to where it came from,” he said, arguing that Ukraine was conducting long-range operations in order to ensure that “the cost of the war for the aggressor inevitably rises.”

He added that the strikes were aimed at reducing Russia's capacity to continue its military campaign and thanked Ukrainian forces involved in the operations.

The latest attacks come as Ukraine has increasingly expanded its use of long-range drones and other weapons against military and energy infrastructure inside Russia and in occupied Ukrainian territories. Recent operations have repeatedly targeted refineries, fuel facilities, logistics hubs and military infrastructure.

The strikes represent part of a broader Ukrainian strategy of taking the war beyond the front lines by targeting facilities that support Russia's military operations.

Ukrainian officials argue that attacks on oil-processing and logistics infrastructure can undermine Russia's ability to finance and supply its war effort. Moscow, meanwhile, has repeatedly condemned Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory and has responded with its own attacks against Ukrainian cities and infrastructure.

The latest exchange comes amid continued intensification of the conflict, with both sides increasingly relying on long-range missiles and drones to strike strategic targets far from the front line.

For Kyiv, the campaign against Russian oil and military infrastructure is intended not only to disrupt immediate military capabilities but also to raise the economic and logistical costs of sustaining the war. (ILKHA)