Ukraine launches drone strikes against Russian tankers, energy targets
by Paul Godfrey · UPIJuly 9 (UPI) -- Ukrainian forces said Thursday that they attacked Russian energy and military assets with drones overnight in occupied Luhansk province, the Asov Sea and Russia's Rostov province.
The strikes targeted 12 Russian oil tankers, a cargo ship and a tugboat in the Sea of Asov, the Yug Rusi oil terminal at Bataisk and a Russian ammunition depot near Sorokyne in Luhansk," the General Staff of the Ukraine Armed Forces said on social media.
The oil terminal, which is at the eastern end of the Asov Sea, was set on fire.
"Units of Ukraine's defense forces struck a number of important enemy military and military-economic targets on the night of July 8-9 as part of efforts targeting the military and economic potential of the Russian aggressor," said the General Staff.
The General Staff said the ships were transporting fuel and lubricants to the Russian military and exporting oil and petroleum products in breach of international sanctions on Russian energy sales which it said were a significant source of funding for the conflict with Ukraine.
The Yug Rusi terminal serves as a key hub for oil products exports enabling Russia to earn revenue from overseas to finance its war machine, as well as supplying Russian troops in the south, according to the Ukrainians.
The airborne assault is part of a concerted military campaign targeting Russia's energy sector, including some of its largest refineries, that has caused fuel shortages and soaring prices, particularly in Crimea where attacks on logistics and the power grid have seen power and water cuts.
Ukraine's Drone Forces Commander Robert Brovdi said that over the past three nights Ukrainian long-range drones had hit 35 tankers, cargo ships and "special vessels" in the Sea of Azov.
Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Center chairman Serhii Kuzan told the Kyiv Independent the goal was to ensure Crimea ceased to be "a rear base for the entire southern group of Russian forces."
Crimea Gov. Mikhail Razvozhayev said Savastopol was only receiving a third of its daily fuel requirements. He said a "colossal effort" by the Russian military was helping but the situation had yet to return to normal.
The crisis prompted Russian President Vladimir Putin to call Wednesday for government subsidies to help out people in Crimea struggling to afford fuel.