Ukraine Strikes Key Russian Oil-Loading Port, Destroys Three ‘Shadow Fleet’ Tankers
The Ukrainian military launched a series of strikes against Russian oil targets, hitting a key loading port on the Baltic Sea and destroying three tankers allegedly used to transport Russian crude. The strikes were part of a broader effort by Kyiv to disrupt Moscow’s ability to fund its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian forces destroyed several military and other targets, including a Karakurt missile ship, a patrol boat, and two tankers belonging to Russia‘s so-called shadow oil fleet. The shadow fleet is used to evade Western sanctions and price caps on Russian energy.
The strikes also targeted the port of Primorsk, which is operated by Russia‘s state oil firm Transneft. The port is capable of handling hundreds of thousands of barrels per day and lies over 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from Ukraine, between the Russian-Finnish border and Russia’s second-largest city of St. Petersburg.
Zelenskyy wrote in a Telegram post that Ukrainian drones struck several targets at the Primorsk port, including a “shadow fleet” tanker. He also claimed that Ukrainian forces destroyed a Karakurt missile ship, a patrol boat, and another tanker.
The strikes were part of a broader effort by Kyiv to disrupt Moscow’s ability to fund its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian officials argue that oil revenue directly funds Moscow’s full-scale invasion of the country, now in its fifth year.
Russian Response
Moscow did not immediately acknowledge Zelenskyy’s claims regarding either strike. However, Russia‘s Defense Ministry reported on Sunday that a total of 334 Ukrainian UAVs were downed overnight over Russia and occupied Crimea.
Russia also attacked Ukraine with 269 drones and ballistic missiles, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. Ukrainian forces shot down and repelled 249 drones, while hits from ballistic missiles and 19 drones were recorded in 15 locations, the air force said in a Facebook update.
Casualties and Damage
The strikes caused significant damage at the Primorsk port, with local Gov. Alexander Drozdenko reporting that a nighttime drone strike sparked a blaze at the facility. However, Drozdenko gave no immediate further comment regarding casualties or damage.
In other incidents overnight into Sunday, Russian drones struck Ukraine‘s southern Odesa region, killing two people and wounding three others. The attack damaged three residential buildings and caused a fire that was later extinguished by emergency teams.
Nighttime Russian strikes also wounded six people in the Dnipropetrovsk region in central Ukraine, with a passenger bus transporting 40 children being damaged but no one inside injured.
In Russia, a Ukrainian drone strike west of Moscow killed a 77-year-old man, local Gov. Andrei Vorobyov reported on the Telegram messenger app. He said the fatal attack occurred near the town of Volokolamsk, some 120 kilometers (75 miles) from central Moscow.
Original Article: Ukraine hits key Russian oil-loading port, 3 ‘shadow fleet’ tankers — Bostonglobe