• President argues Ukrainian counteroffensive near city of Dobropillia disrupted Russia’s summer offensive
• Says Kyiv to nominate US president for Nobel Peace Prize if he brokers ceasefire in Russia-Ukraine war

ISTANBUL 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed Ukraine's recent long-range strikes have reduced Russia's gasoline supplies by a fifth.

“We need to check, but we believe they lost up to 20% of their gasoline supply. It was after our strikes,” Zelenskyy said in a conversation with journalists, remarks from which were published by local media outlets on Thursday, including state news agency Ukrinform.

Zelenskyy argued that the deficit in Russia’s fuel supplies is portrayed by increased imports from Belarus and China.

He confirmed the use of domestically produced Neptune and Flamingo cruise missiles in Russia over the past week, but did not specify in what amount.

Moscow and Kyiv have frequently traded accusations in recent weeks over targeting each other’s energy facilities as winter months approach, and amid diplomatic efforts to end the Ukraine war that have largely stalled.

Earlier in the day, Ukraine’s General Staff claimed on Telegram it struck a gas processing plant and an oil pumping station in Russia’s southern Volgograd region during an overnight attack, reporting explosions and a fire in both facilities.

Volgograd Governor Andrey Bocharov said fires broke out at a fuel and energy facilities in the region, but did not provide further details.

Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed its air defenses shot down 19 Ukrainian drones overnight, nine of which were downed over the Volgograd region.

In August, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia’s domestic fuel market is “fully supplied."

Commenting on the situation at the front line, Zelenskyy said Ukraine believes its counteroffensive near the city of Dobropillia in the eastern Donetsk region disrupted Russia’s summer offensive.

He said Ukraine’s counteroffensive also hindered Moscow’s objective to take control over most of the Donbas region by November, which he claimed was conveyed to the US by the Russian side during negotiations.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine believes Russia and the US currently do not have a “common vision” on the end of the war, adding that Washington “understands that Russia is lying.”

Regarding the potential supply of Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine by the US, Zelenskyy said President Donald Trump did not refuse such a possibility during their meeting on the sidelines of the 80th UN General Assembly session in New York last month.

He also confirmed that negotiations between Russia and Ukraine on prisoner exchanges are ongoing, but accused Moscow of preparing “provocations” in this regard with the aim of pressuring Kyiv.

The Ukrainian president said achieving a ceasefire in Ukraine will encourage peace negotiations, but that a plan to end the war will not be simple. 

"If Trump gives the world, and especially Ukrainians, the opportunity for such a ceasefire, yes, he should be nominated for the Nobel Prize. We will nominate him on behalf of Ukraine," Zelenskyy added.