President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday, July 26, that Ukraine has approved an updated list of priority targets for long-range strikes inside Russia as Kyiv seeks to increase pressure on Moscow’s military and economic capabilities.
According to a post published on Zelensky’s official Telegram channel following a meeting on Ukraine’s long-range strike campaign, the revised target list reflects areas expected to have the greatest impact on Russia’s ability to continue the war.
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“Today we approved the continuation of our operations and updated the list of priority targets in line with their real impact on Russia and its ability to continue and prolong this war,” Zelensky wrote.
He said the campaign is intended to increase pressure on Russia by disrupting weapons component production, inflicting losses on the country’s oil industry and other sectors of its economy, and bringing the consequences of the war back to Russian territory.
More than 1,000 long-range strike missions completed
Zelensky said Ukraine has carried out more than 1,000 long-range strike missions since launching what he described as a campaign of “long-range sanctions” earlier this year.
According to the president, Ukrainian forces have struck oil facilities, critical military production sites and strategically important logistics infrastructure across Russia.
He added that Ukrainian drones have already demonstrated the ability to reach targets more than 3,000 kilometers (1,865 miles) away, including in the Ural region, Siberia and other areas far from Moscow.
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Russia’s strategic depth becoming a vulnerability
Zelensky said Russia’s vast geographic depth, long considered one of Moscow’s military advantages, is increasingly becoming a liability.
He argued that much of Russia’s air defense network remains concentrated around Moscow, state residences, the Kerch Bridge and St. Petersburg, leaving other regions more exposed to Ukrainian long-range attacks.
“The strategic depth of Russia’s rear, which for a long time was its advantage, is now becoming a particular problem for Russia’s political and military leadership,” he wrote.
Long-range pressure aimed at forcing diplomacy
Zelensky said the objective of the campaign is not only to damage Russia’s military infrastructure but also to create conditions that could push Moscow toward negotiations.
“Our main goal is for our long-range pressure to push Russia toward diplomacy by complicating the production of weapons components, inflicting losses on its oil sector and economy, and bringing this war back to where it came from,” he said.
The president added that Ukraine has already presented Russia with what he described as all the necessary proposals to end the war through “a dignified peace” and said Kyiv’s international partners understand what is needed to achieve that goal.
“We have made all the necessary proposals to Russia’s political leadership to end this war with a dignified peace. All our partners know what is needed,” Zelensky wrote.
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