Russia-Ukraine war: Russia fuel crisis deepens as Ukraine steps up drone strikes on Crimea

A Russian Shahid drone hit a gas station in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhia. One person was killed, while three others were injured. The attack coming as the United Nations warned that civilian casualties continue to rise. The UN told the Security Council that June recorded the highest monthly civilian casualty toll since the early months of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. According to the UN, 265 civilians were killed and 1,816 injured in June alone. They're tormenting innocent people, just tormenting them. I don't know what they want. They want to bring us to our knees, but we're not going to, damn it. In fact, Ukraine has expanded strikes on Russian military logistics. Kiev said it targeted vessels in the Sea of Azov, part of what it calls a campaign to disrupt Russian supply routes to Crimea. In fact, the strikes come as fuel shortages continue in parts of Russia. Moscow has banned diesel exports, while shortages or fuel rationing have been reported in more more than 90% of the Russian regions. These developments also drew international attention. Speaking in Warsaw, the French Foreign Minister, in fact, said Russia's increasing provocations show that President Putin is losing. Listen to this. And so, when we see an increase in provocation, we can almost deduce, as we already know, Vladimir Putin is losing. Ukrainian resistance is forcing him to retreat along the front line. It is now managing to strike deep into Russian territory. Even President Trump said Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy infrastructure could help bring the war to an end, but the Kremlin rejected that assessment. We see certain misconceptions within the White House administration that by escalating military pressure it can help move to a peace settlement. That is a mistaken view. As the war enters its fifth year, attacks on recruitment officers have also risen. Prosecutors in the western city of Lviv opened a criminal investigation after around 200 people surrounded and overturned an army conscription vehicle during a mobilization operation. In fact, the Ukrainian president, meanwhile, said Kiev and Washington are working through the technical details needed to begin licensed production of the Patriot air defense missiles