🔗 Share this article Recent Processing Facility Attack Reveals 'Zero Protected Areas in Russia's Deep Rear' Ukraine's drones have targeted Russia's Bashneft facility in the city of Ufa, situated around 1,400 km from the Ukrainian border, resulting in blasts and a fire, according to a insider in the Ukrainian Security Service. This represents the 3rd SBU far-reaching assault in the region in the last month. These strikes demonstrate that there are no safe places in the far hinterland of the Russian state. Ukrainian President Appeals to Trump to Broker Ceasefire in the Conflict President Zelenskyy called on President Trump to mediate a ceasefire in the Ukrainian conflict over a phone call on the weekend. "If a hostilities can be ended in one region, then undoubtedly other wars can be stopped as well, encompassing the Russian aggression," he remarked, hailing the US President's "remarkable" Middle East peace initiative and urging the US president to pressure the Russian government into negotiations. Russian Strikes Kill Victims in Ukraine Russian attacks on Ukraine killed at least five people on the weekend and cut power to sections of Ukraine's south Odesa area, according to local sources. A pair of individuals died in a place of worship in Kostyantynivka when it was hit, as reported by regional officials. In the Russian adjacent territory of Belgorod, a lorry operator was fatally wounded by a Ukrainian strike, per municipal sources. Electricity Recovery Efforts in Kyiv Efforts proceeded on the weekend to recover electricity in Kyiv, after strikes by Moscow. Power had been returned to over 800,000 residents by the weekend and the major private energy company said the key operations to restore power was complete though partial blackouts remained. Anti-Aircraft Efforts and UAV Interceptions Ukraine's air defences downed or disrupted fifty-four of seventy-eight enemy drones launched towards the country during the night, the military said on the weekend. The Russian military authorities said it eliminated 42 enemy UAVs from Ukraine over Russian territory. Cuban Government Denies Accusations of Deploying Troops to the War Havana on the weekend refuted US assertions it has deployed soldiers to fight in the Ukraine war, while affirming the government "lack exact information about individuals" involved "on their own" or "within the troops of either party". The ministry in Havana announced 26 Cubans had been sentenced to jail sentences varying between 5 to 14 years for participating as mercenaries since September 2023 when information emerged of Cubans being dispatched to the front in Ukraine. I Want to Live Program Discloses Data on Cuban National Enlistment I Want to Live, a Ukrainian government project that encourages adversaries to give up, said in May: "Our information indicates the identities and information of one thousand and twenty-eight individuals who entered into agreements with the Russian military in 2023-2024." The Cuban foreign ministry stated of those who might be engaged: "Undeniably that no individual has the backing, allegiance, or consent of the government in Havana for their actions." Relatives of Cubans who left for Russia in the year reported to international media at the time that their loved ones had been deceptively recruited through advertisements on online platforms.