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Ukrainian UAVs have struck the Russian Bashneft refinery in the city of Ufa, situated around 1,400 kilometres from Ukraine, resulting in blasts and a fire, per a insider in the Ukrainian SBU.

This represents the latest SBU deep strike in the region in the recent weeks. Such operations show that there are no safe places in the deep rear of the Russia.

Zelenskyy Appeals to Trump to Facilitate Truce in Ukraine

President Zelenskyy called on Donald Trump to facilitate a truce in Ukraine during a phone call on the weekend.

"Provided that a hostilities can be ended in a single area, then surely further hostilities can be ended as well, encompassing the Russian aggression," the President stated, praising the US President's "outstanding" Gaza peace initiative and urging the American leader to influence the Kremlin into talks.

Russian Strikes Kill Victims in Ukraine

Strikes by Russia on Ukrainian territory killed at least several civilians on Saturday and cut power to parts of the southern Odesa area, according to authorities in Ukraine.

Two civilians were killed inside a religious building in the town when it was hit, per municipal sources.

In Russia's adjacent territory of Belgorod, a truck driver was killed by a drone assault, according to local officials.

Power Recovery Efforts in Kyiv

Efforts proceeded on Saturday to restore power in Kyiv, after assaults.

Power had been restored to more than 800,000 residents by Saturday and the biggest private energy company said the key efforts to restore power was complete though some outages remained.

Air Defence Operations and Drone Downings

The Ukrainian air defences neutralized 54 of 78 UAVs from Russia deployed towards the country overnight, the aerial defense command announced on the weekend.

The Russian military authorities claimed it eliminated 42 UAVs from Ukraine over Russian territory.

Cuban Government Refutes Claims of Sending Soldiers to Ukraine

The Cuban government on the weekend refuted American claims it has deployed troops to fight in the hostilities, while declaring officials in Havana "are without exact data about citizens of Cuba" involved "on their own" or "as part of the armed units of both sides".

The government department in the capital said twenty-six Cuban citizens had been sentenced to prison terms from five up to fourteen years for mercenary involvement since September 2023 when news emerged of Cuban nationals being dispatched to the front in the conflict.

Surrender Initiative Project Reports Details on Cuban Recruitment

The program, a Ukrainian government project that promotes enemy combatants to give up, reported in May: "Our information indicates the names and personal details of 1,028 individuals who enlisted with the Russian armed forces in recently."

The government in Havana said of Cubans who might be participating: "It is irrefutable that no individual have the support, allegiance, or authorization of the Cuban state for their actions."

Relatives of individuals who departed to the Russian Federation in the year told Agence France-Presse at the time that their loved ones had been misled into enlisting through promotions on digital networks.