Ukraine hit the Krymskaya oil pumping station overnight as Russia claimed full control of Luhansk — but Zelenskyy offered to stop energy strikes if Moscow halts attacks on Ukrainian power infrastructure first.
Ukraine's defence forces struck the Krymskaya oil pumping station in Russia's Krasnodar Krai on the night of April 9, targeting a critical piece of Russian energy infrastructure in what Kyiv described as a proportional response to Moscow's relentless attacks on Ukrainian power grids. The strike comes as Russian total combat losses since February 2022 have reached approximately 1,307,540 personnel, with 1,040 casualties recorded in the past day alone. Ukrainian forces engaged in 164 separate combat encounters across the front line, while Russia carried out 75 airstrikes and dropped 250 guided aerial bombs on Ukrainian positions.
On the territorial front, Russia's Ministry of Defence claimed its forces had taken full control of the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine, declaring the complete liberation of what it calls the Luhansk People's Republic. Over the past four weeks, Russian forces have gained 17 square miles of Ukrainian territory, though in the most recent week they actually lost one square mile — a sign that the grinding war of attrition continues to exact an enormous cost for marginal territorial gains. Meanwhile, a Ukrainian drone killed three civilians in Russia's Vladimir region, while two separate Russian attacks killed seven civilians in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk and Kherson regions, underscoring the devastating toll the war continues to take on non-combatants on both sides of the border.
President Zelenskyy made a conditional ceasefire offer that has drawn attention from Western capitals. If Russia is ready to stop strikes on our energy infrastructure, we will respond in kind, Zelenskyy stated. The offer represents a narrower, more pragmatic approach to de-escalation than previous all-or-nothing ceasefire proposals, focusing on protecting the civilian energy systems that both sides depend on for winter survival. However, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that President Putin has not yet decided on a possible Easter truce, and analysts remain sceptical that Moscow will accept any deal that does not formalise its territorial gains. With the war now in its fifth year and casualties mounting on both sides at an accelerating rate, the Zelenskyy energy ceasefire proposal may represent the last realistic window for any form of de-escalation before the conflict enters yet another devastating summer offensive season.