On Thursday, just hours after President Volodymyr Zelensky’s meeting with President Donald Trump in Washington, Ukraine successfully launched long-range strikes that hit two large Russian oil refineries.
According to the Associated Press, which cited Ukraine’s Security Service and General Staff, the strikes hit a Lukoil refinery in Russia’s Perm region and another refinery in Ryazan. The two refineries that were hit, the report said, have an annual production capacity of 220 million barrels.
MSTA-S Russian Artillery. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Finnish artillery units fire Howitzers At Rovajärvi exercise area In northern Finland. Image Credit: NATO Flickr.
The report added that Wildberries, the Amazon-like retailer in Russia that has had its facilities struck multiple times in recent weeks, evacuated a facility in Ryazan, near where the refinery was reportedly struck.
On his social media accounts, Zelensky did not appear to have commented on the refinery strikes, although he did comment on Russia’s deadly missile strikes overnight.
An analysis published this week by the Financial Times looked at how Ukraine’s successful strikes on refineries have begun to spoil Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “refinery dream.” One refinery at the Black Sea port of Tuapse was actually visited by Putin in 2013, but has now been one of the worst-hit by Ukraine’s long-range strikes.
Two attacks in April on that refinery sent “apocalyptic towers of black smoke into the sky.”
An analysis by FT along with Frontelligence Insight found that Ukraine’s campaign of strikes has succeeded in knocking out “more than 30 and 45 percent of Russia’s actual and nominal capacity.”
Zelensky in Washington
Zelensky’s visit to Washington was eventful.
He attended the funeral of Sen. Lindsey Graham, met with President Donald Trump at the White House, and held meetings with a bipartisan group of Congressional leaders and the defense contractors Raytheon and Lockheed Martin.
According to a report by The Hill about the meeting with members of Congress, Zelensky asked for anti-ballistic missiles and also pushed for the sanctions legislation that Graham had advanced before his passing, including on a visit to Kyiv days before his death.
Finland’s President Alexander Stubb also participated in the meeting.
The Hill story added that the war is likely to continue through the winter without a ceasefire. The tone of the meeting was described as “upbeat,” although Zelensky was clear that Ukraine is far from “out of the woods.”
Can the Sanctions Bill Pass?
On the day of Zelensky’s visit to Capitol Hill and of Graham’s funeral, Axios reported that 86 Senators voted to advance that sanctions bill, which would target both Russia and Iran.
All Republicans voted for the measure with the exception of Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY). Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) was the Democratic cosponsor, and the Ukrainian president was present in the Senate chamber when the vote was taken.
The bill would impose “secondary tariffs” on countries that buy oil and gas from Russia, while also going after the Russian “shadow fleet,” which moves oil in defiance of Western sanctions. The bill would also extend sanctions on Iran that are due to expire.
The Washington Post on Thursday wrote about the deal reached in Congress to “clinch” the advancement of Graham’s sanctions bill, which has been named the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctions Act on Russia.
Graham, attending the NATO summit in Turkey the week before his passing, had met with Zelensky and asked him to promote the bill in a later meeting with Trump.
In his final visit to Kyiv a few days later, Graham received word that Trump had agreed to back the sanctions bill.
Senators told the Post that the bill would not have moved forward without Graham’s efforts.
It also represents a high-water mark of support for Ukraine so far in the second Trump era, after Trump had come into office promising to end the war on day one, implicitly on terms favorable to Russia, and then dressed down Zelensky in an on-camera Oval Office meeting.
The final passage of the sanctions bill, however, remains uncertain. The Senate would not take a final vote, while the House of Representatives remains in recess for another month, until the end of August. Therefore, the bill cannot possibly reach the president’s desk until September at the earliest.
About the Author: Stephen Silver
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist, and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review, and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, national security, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
