Kiev is trying to cut fuel and power supplies to Crimea through drone strikes
Ukrainian kamikaze drones struck two oil tankers in a major overnight attack on Rostov Region, Russia, Governor Yury Slyusar said on Wednesday.
The vessels were hit in Taganrog Bay while heading east toward Rostov-on-Don, the governor reported. Two people sustained minor injuries, and the crew of one of the tankers had to be evacuated. Slyusar said Russian air defenses intercepted around 70 Ukrainian drones over the region during the night.
Ukraine’s drone forces commander, Robert Brovdi, claimed that Kiev attacked eight tankers, not two, in the Sea of Azov. He said the strikes were intended to disrupt gasoline deliveries to Crimea.
Ukrainian forces have intensified attacks aimed at undermining daily life on the Russian peninsula, in what Vladimir Zelensky has described as an effort to turn Crimea into an “island.” The campaign has focused on triggering power outages and fuel shortages.
According to Slyusar, the tankers were empty when they were hit, and no oil was spilled as a result of the attack.
Zelensky has argued that strikes on Russian energy infrastructure could alter the balance in Kiev’s conflict with Moscow, and has sought additional Western funding to expand the campaign.
Ukraine has repeatedly targeted vessels it accuses of transporting Russian oil, including ships operating in international waters, while claiming that commercial tankers can be treated as legitimate military targets.
Some tankers have been attacked for merely using the Russian port of Novorossiysk to transport oil produced in Kazakhstan and exported by an international consortium through Russian territory. Astana filed a formal protest following a strike last November.
