(KYIV, UKRAINE) – Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles have struck key Russian energy infrastructure targets deep inside Russian territory, including an oil refinery in Nizhnekamsk and a gas terminal in the Krasnodar region, while Crimea’s Sevastopol lost power.
At least 12 people have been killed and more than 30 wounded in Ukraine after Russia launched a barrage of drones and missiles at Kyiv shortly after midnight. Another round of explosions was heard in the capital shortly after 6am local time. Kyiv authorities reported at least 12 attack sites and several fires across three districts.
A number of residential buildings were damaged in the attack, as well as a children’s hospital, which had its windows blown out and vehicles burned on its grounds. More than half of Ukraine’s territory was put under air attack alert overnight, with strikes also reported in Kharkiv and Melitopol.
Romania’s defence ministry said a drone crashed on Romanian territory during the Russian attack on neighbouring Ukraine early Thursday. Officials said the drone came down in an unpopulated area of the eastern Tulcea region. The incident comes just days after a Spanish F-18 fighter jet pilot on a NATO air policing mission shot down a drone illegally entering Romanian skies. NATO member Romania shares a 600 kilometre land border with Ukraine and has reported repeated breaches of its airspace by Russian drones over the past four years.
Ukrainian UAVs reportedly hit a series of key power and oil infrastructure targets deep inside Russia overnight Wednesday to Thursday. Unverified social media footage appears to show drones striking an oil refinery in Nizhnekamsk in the Russian Republic of Tatarstan, as Kyiv continues its campaign of what it calls “long range sanctions.”
The Kyiv Independent reports that the Taman Neftegaz terminal in the southwestern Krasnodar region was also hit. Telegram channels reported that the Taman electrical substation, which provides power to Russian occupied Crimea, was set on fire. Moscow installed authorities said on Thursday that power was temporarily shut off in the Crimean city of Sevastopol to prevent a wider blackout on the territory.
Former US ambassador to Poland, Daniel Fried, said that despite corruption and political turmoil, Ukraine has made significant democratic progress over the past three decades. Speaking to TVP World, he said that if Ukraine succeeds in defeating Russia, that democratic transition will continue.
Fried questioned former defence minister Fedorov’s call for elections. “I think former defence minister Fedorov’s call for elections lacks a certain credibility because you have to ask yourself, would he be calling for new elections if he had been reinstated as defence minister?” Fried said.
He described Fedorov as “a brilliant defence minister, heroic, capable in many ways, an admirable figure” but added that “being admirable in some things doesn’t make you great in all things.”
Fried also addressed concerns about corruption in Ukraine. “Those of us who support Ukraine should not try to cover up their problems. But the fact is Ukraine has been on an ascending path over the past 25 years through the Orange Revolution, the second Maidan, and all of the reforms that have taken place up until today,” he said.
Fuel stations in Moscow have reintroduced limits on petrol purchases as continued Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries put growing pressure on fuel supplies. Shortages began in May. The Kremlin’s initial attempts to control the situation included banning petrol exports, easing fuel quality requirements and importing petroleum products from abroad.
Despite Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s comments that the situation did not have a critical influence on the energy sector, repeated Ukrainian attacks on energy infrastructure, including Wednesday’s attack on a refinery in the Ulyanovsk region, have now led to fuel limits for customers, with stations restricting purchases to between 30 and 60 litres per vehicle depending on the producer.
NATO is sending a clear message to Russia that it is ready to respond to any potential threat. Dozens of aircraft have been taking part in exercises around the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad since Tuesday. The show of force comes as Moscow steps up its rhetoric against the Baltic states.
Tuesday morning saw 25 mainly US aircraft, including early warning and control, reconnaissance F-35 fighter jets, Apache helicopters and midair refuelling tankers headed through Poland towards the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. Analysts noted the manoeuvres closely resembled the plans laid out in NATO’s land war fighting concept. According to the plans, in the event of a Russian advance on the Baltic states or Poland, the alliance would move towards the Russian exclave.
Kaliningrad has a significant number of missiles and air defence systems. NATO may use fighter jets, missiles or unmanned systems capable of striking Russian targets in response.
Russia’s hybrid warfare against NATO has intensified over the past year, with a ramp up of drone incursions and at least one instance of a cruise missile entering allied territory.
The entire board of Latvia’s road traffic safety directorate has stepped down following a massive cyber attack on the agency’s databases which affected over a million people. According to the directorate, the data of some 1.2 million people and 200,000 companies was stolen, including names, personal identification and registration numbers, addresses, as well as payment amounts and dates. The Latvian Prime Minister said it is possible the cyber attack was part of a broader foreign hybrid campaign directed at Latvia.
US President Donald Trump has announced economic warfare against Iran by threatening countries that help Iran with “tremendous economic consequences.” Trump’s announcement comes a day after the UAE, one of Iran’s closest commercial partners, suspended all trade and financial dealings with Tehran.
The Danish government has announced it will speed up the development of a national anti drone system aimed at strengthening the country’s ability to detect and track potential aerial threats in real time. According to Denmark’s defence minister, Jeppe Bruus, this marks “a major step towards increasing protection against drones over Denmark.”
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