Ukraine's SBU to wage 40-day pressure campaign against Russia, Zelensky says

President Volodymyr Zelensky has approved a plan for Ukraine's State Security Service (SBU) to launch a 40-day operation aimed at pressuring Russia to end the war, the president said on June 25.

The announcement followed a meeting between Zelensky and the acting head of the SBU, Yevhenii Khmara. The commander reported on "our plan for long-range sanctions, medium-range sanctions, and the results achieved by the SBU," Zelensky said.

The president said he gave his approval for the SBU to launch "a 40-day influence operation ... against the aggressor state aimed at compelling it to end the war."

Zelensky did not provide additional details on what this operation would entail. He did praise the SBU, particularly the elite Alpha special operations unit, for its recent success in "hitting personnel and equipment of the occupying forces."

Over the past several weeks, Ukrainian forces have dealt a series of blows to Russia's logistics, energy infrastructure, and sense of relative security by launching dramatic strikes against Crimea and Moscow.

Back-to-back drone strikes on the Russian capital in June shut down the Moscow Oil Refinery, worsening a fuel crisis across the country and bringing the war home to a population long insulated from the daily horrors of aerial warfare.

Ukraine's "middle strike" campaign against occupied Crimea has choked logistics in the peninsula, cutting off crucial Russian supply routes while pounding critical infrastructure.

Russia's advances on the battlefield have also slowed, a development for which Zelensky also praised the SBU.

"Importantly, for several months in a row, the SBU has demonstrated the highest performance in defending Ukraine's positions on the front lines through the use of various types of drones," he said.

Ukraine's recent successes have reportedly impressed Washington. A senior Ukrainian official told the Kyiv Independent that U.S. President Donald Trump privately urged Zelensky to act "more boldly" against Russia.

The Kremlin continues to refuse to engage in good-faith peace negotiations, with Russian President Vladimir Putin rejecting repeated invitations to meet Zelensky for talks in a neutral country.