Ukraine has launched a wave of strikes against Russia's oil export infrastructure, hitting a key loading port on the Baltic Sea and three tankers that Ukraine alleges were illegally used to transport Russian crude. The operation, conducted overnight into Sunday, targeted the port of Primorsk, Russia's largest oil exporting port on the Baltic, operated by state oil firm Transneft.
Strike on Primorsk Port
A nighttime drone strike sparked a blaze at the port of Primorsk, according to Russian regional Governor Alexander Drozdenko. The port, located over 1,000 kilometers from Ukraine between the Russian-Finnish border and St. Petersburg, has a capacity to handle hundreds of thousands of barrels per day. Drozdenko stated that the drone strike did not cause an oil spill but provided no further details on casualties or damage. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that Ukrainian forces destroyed several military and other targets, inflicting significant damage on oil port infrastructure. He noted that a Russian carrier of Kalibr missiles was put out of action and that a Karakurt missile ship, a patrol boat, and a tanker belonging to Russia's shadow oil fleet were also hit.
Shadow Fleet Tankers Targeted
In a separate post, Zelenskyy announced that Ukrainian forces struck two more shadow fleet tankers near the entrance of the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. These tankers were actively used to transport oil, and Zelenskyy declared they would no longer be operational. The operation was led by Ukraine's chief of general staff, Andrii Hnatov. Moscow did not immediately acknowledge these claims. Ukraine has intensified attacks on Russia's oil export infrastructure, arguing that oil revenue directly funds Moscow's full-scale invasion, now in its fifth year.
Casualties in Odesa and Moscow
Elsewhere, Russian drone strikes killed two people and wounded three others in Ukraine's southern Odesa region overnight. The attack damaged three residential buildings and hit port infrastructure, causing a fire that was later extinguished. In the Dnipropetrovsk region, six people were wounded by Russian strikes; a passenger bus carrying 40 children was damaged, but no injuries were reported among them. In Russia, a Ukrainian drone strike west of Moscow killed a 77-year-old man near Volokolamsk, about 120 kilometers from central Moscow. Governor Andrei Vorobyov reported that six drones were shot down in the Moscow region, and at least five more were downed on the approach to Moscow itself. In the Smolensk region, a man, woman, and child were injured by drone debris hitting an apartment block.
Extensive Drone Activity
Russia's Defense Ministry reported that 334 Ukrainian UAVs were downed overnight over Russia and occupied Crimea. Meanwhile, Ukraine's Air Force stated that Russia attacked with 269 drones and ballistic missiles; Ukrainian forces shot down 249 drones, while hits from ballistic missiles and 19 drones were recorded in 15 locations.
