Ukraine Strikes Russian Oil Targets, Hits Key Port and Three ‘Shadow Fleet’ Tankers
Ukraine launched a wave of strikes against Russian oil targets on Sunday, hitting a key loading port on the Baltic Sea and two tankers that Ukraine alleges were illegally used to transport Russian crude.
The nighttime drone strike sparked a blaze at Russia‘s largest oil exporting port on the Baltic Sea, the port of Primorsk. According to Russian regional Gov. Alexander Drozdenko, 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.
Local Gov. Drozdenko reported that the drone strike did not cause an oil spill, but gave no immediate further comment regarding casualties or damage. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, however, claimed that Ukrainian forces destroyed several military and other targets, while also inflicting significant damage on oil port infrastructure.
Destruction of Military Targets and Oil Port Infrastructure
According to Zelenskyy, Ukrainian drones also hit a Karakurt missile ship, a patrol boat, and a tanker belonging to Russia‘s so-called shadow oil fleet, used to evade Western sanctions and price caps on Russian energy. In his Telegram post, Zelenskyy wrote: “One more Russian carrier of Kalibr missiles is out of action. Major General Yevhen Khmara reported on the successful destruction of targets in the Primorsk port.”
Strikes on ‘Shadow Fleet’ Tankers
Zelenskyy also claimed that Ukrainian forces struck two more “shadow fleet” tankers near the entrance of the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. In a separate post, he said: “These tankers were actively used to transport oil. Now they won’t.” He added that the operation was led by the chief of Ukraine‘s general staff, Andrii Hnatov.
Moscow did not immediately acknowledge Zelenskyy’s claims regarding either strike.
Escalation of Attacks on Russian Oil Export Infrastructure
Kyiv has recently stepped up its attacks on Russia‘s oil export infrastructure. Ukrainian officials argue that oil revenue directly funds Moscow’s full-scale invasion of the country, now in its fifth year. The strikes are part of a broader campaign to disrupt Russia’s ability to fund its military efforts through oil exports.
Casualties and Damage Elsewhere
In other developments, two people were killed and three others wounded as Russian drones struck Ukraine‘s southern Odesa region overnight into Sunday, Ukraine’s Emergency Service reported. 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, the agency said. A passenger bus transporting 40 children was damaged, but no one inside was injured, it added.
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 and 3 ‘shadow fleet’ tankers — Sfchronicle