Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky comments on the attack on St. Petersburg deep inside Russia…
“We are responding to strikes on Ukraine… We are responding exclusively to oil refineries, to military targets. They should know that if they use drones and missiles against us, we will do the same.
That statement from Volodymyr Zelenskyy came after Ukraine launched one of its deepest drone strikes into Russian territory, hitting targets in St. Petersburg over 1,500km from the front line.
Ukrainian sources and outlets covering his remarks quote him framing the strikes as retaliation. He called Kyiv’s drone and missile strikes on Russia “fair” and promised more to come. He said it was a “fair response” to deadly Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities a day earlier. “We are responding exclusively to oil refineries, to military targets” — specifically mentioning the St. Petersburg oil terminal, one of Russia’s largest oil transfer facilities.
Ukraine’s attack followed Russian strikes that killed at least 18 people and injured dozens in Ukrainian cities. Zelenskyy’s message: “They should know that if they use drones and missiles against us, we will do the same” — essentially a doctrine of reciprocal strikes on military/oil infrastructure.