“These tankers were actively used for transporting oil. Now they will not be.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote that on Telegram, alongside black-and-white footage that appeared to show a naval drone closing in on one of the ships.
He said three Russian oil tankers, a cruise-missile carrier warship and a patrol boat were hit in separate attacks on two Russian ports. No details on damage to the vessels were given. Zelensky said the tankers belonged to Russia’s “shadow fleet,” used to evade the Western sanctions imposed over the full-scale invasion launched in 2022.
Primorsk and Novorossiysk
On Sunday, Zelensky said infrastructure at the Primorsk terminal, on the Baltic Sea near Finland, had been significantly damaged. An oil tanker and a patrol boat were hit there, he added, along with a Karakurt class corvette built to carry Kalibr cruise missiles. He had said earlier that Ukrainian drones struck two other tankers at the entrance to the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk.
Export terminals have been a target for weeks. Kyiv says a series of successful strikes on Russian oil infrastructure has knocked out billions of dollars’ worth of exports.
Russia’s military said Ukraine fired at least 334 drones, with the north-western Leningrad region heavily targeted.
Refineries too
Ukraine has also kept hitting the Tuapse oil refinery in Krasnodar Krai. The Security Service of Ukraine and the General Staff confirmed a fourth strike on the site in a month on May 1, when fire broke out in oil tanks. Earlier attacks were confirmed for April 16, 20 and 28, and after the third a state of emergency was declared in the municipal district. The Krasnodar Krai Operational Headquarters reported that a drone attack started a fire at the marine terminal.
The Kyiv Independent said it could not verify the claims. Russian authorities have mostly downplayed the impact of such attacks, according to the BBC, but the Kremlin is plainly worried about how far Ukrainian drones can reach. It announced it was paring back its Victory Day parade on 9 May because of what it called a “terrorist threat” from Ukraine.
Russian strikes
Russian drone and missile attacks killed ten people and injured at least 76 over the same day, Ukrainian officials said. Three died in Kherson region, two each in Odesa, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia, and one in Sumy region.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia fired 269 drones overnight and 249 were shot down or jammed. It confirmed 19 direct drone hits and one ballistic missile hit in 15 locations.
Kyiv says it is hitting legitimate military targets and accuses Moscow of attacking civilians.
Sources
- Ukraine Strikes Russian Oil Refinery As Zelensky Ends Energy Attack Pause · Clash Report
- Ukraine war latest: Ukraine strikes Russia's Tuapse oil refinery for 4th time; Zelensky announces major military reform
- Russian strikes kill ten as Zelensky says Ukraine hits oil tankers and terminal
