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Russia carried out overnight drone and missile strikes on Ukraine, killing four people and wounding 20 others in Kyiv and several other regions, according to authorities on Saturday, as the United States and other Western allies ramped up pressure on Moscow. Ukraine’s internal affairs ministry said, “One rescuer was killed and another wounded as a result of a repeated missile strike on the Petropavlivska community in the Dnipropetrovsk region.” Another woman was killed and seven people were injured in the eastern region, with the ministry reporting damage to fire trucks, residential buildings and shops. Two people were killed in Kyiv as Moscow targeted the Ukrainian capital, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko. Russia fired nine Iskander-M ballistic missiles and 62 attack drones, the Ukrainian air force said, adding it had downed four ballistic missiles and 50 drones. US, UK Impose Sanctions On Russian Oil The United States imposed sanctions on Russian oil firms, Rosneft and Lukoil, this week as part of its efforts to compel Moscow to halt its war in Ukraine amid US President Donald Trump’s growing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This came after Britain imposed sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil as UK finance minister Rachel Reeves visited the United States. The UK also targeted Nayara Energy, a Russian-owned refinery in India, which is controlled by Rosneft. Nayara has already been sanctioned by the European Union. The sanctions are part of the plans by Western powers to ramp up pressure on Russia’s oil exports. India and China are the biggest buyers of Russian crude at discounted prices that Moscow has been forced to offer after losing sales to Europe following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed his growing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has refused to agree to a ceasefire. Putin has remained defiant in the face of US sanctions and said he will not bow to pressure. On the other hand, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the decision and urged the US to broaden Russian oil sanctions. “This is a very right move by the US President—sanctions against two Russian oil companies. Today, all participants, without exception, in the Coalition of the Willing agreed that this is exactly how pressure should continue on Russian oil,” he said. (with inputs from agencies)
