Moon of Alabama September 1, 2026
On June 24 the (acting) president of Ukraine Vladimir Zelinski announced a 40-day campaign:
“I approved a 40-day operation by the Service to influence the aggressor state in order to press for an end to the war,” Zelenskiy wrote on Telegram.Ukraine has for months engaged in waves of medium-range and long-range strikes on targets in Russia or Russian-held areas, mainly focused on the oil industry.
The campaign was launched while life in Kiev was still relative peaceful. Russian attacks were aimed at industrial sites but tried to avoid civilian targets. Ukrainian im- and exports via Odessa harbor were fully functional. The whole country had sufficient energy supplies.
During the campaign the Ukrainian forces used drones to attack Russia’s oil industry. Strikes on power installations in Crimea, Moscow and St. Peterburg followed. Ukraine soon added all Russian shipping and harbor installations in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea to its target list. Last but not least it started to strike at purely civilian targets in Russia like the warehouses of Wildberry, the Russian Amazon.
The campaign was designed to influence Russian politics as well as Ukraine’s supporters in the West:
Lutsevych suggests Ukraine’s successes in bringing the war to Russia – before and within the 40-day campaign – may have contributed to a change of attitude in the Trump administration towards Ukraine.
“I think it shows it is done for Russia in its attempt to conquer Ukraine and is important for the strategic posture of Ukraine’s forces in the future, although it is more symbolic at the moment.”
Zelenski’s campaign however did not take into account that Russia could react and would hit back.
The Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries, intended to create transport problems for Russia, were responded to by drone attacks on Ukrainian gas stations. More than 300 of those throughout the country’s east have been destroyed by Russian drone strikes. Additionally, Russian forces targeted Ukraine’s railways. So far nearly 500 locomotives have been destroyed or damaged.
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