Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has ordered his country’s intelligence and military forces to carry out preemptive strikes against facilities that support Russia’s war efforts. The directive, announced on June 25, represents a notable escalation in Ukraine’s approach to the conflict, shifting from a largely defensive posture to one that actively targets the logistics backbone sustaining Russian military operations.
What Ukraine is actually targeting
Ukrainian forces have already demonstrated the operational reality behind Zelenskiy’s announcement. The Moscow Oil Refinery was struck at least twice within a single week in June 2026. The Dubna Space Communications Center was also hit in recent operations.
Ukrainian officials have framed these operations as necessary responses to Russia’s ongoing bombardment of Ukrainian cities, factories, and power facilities. The logic runs that if Russia can strike Ukrainian civilian infrastructure with impunity, then the facilities enabling those strikes are legitimate targets.
The negotiation gambit
