9 articles · Updated · The Associated Press · May 3
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said drones hit Primorsk on the Baltic Sea, a Karakurt vessel, a patrol boat and three tankers, including two near Novorossiysk.
Russia said the Primorsk strike caused a fire but no oil spill; the Transneft port handles hundreds of thousands of barrels daily and lies more than 1,000km from Ukraine.
The attacks extend Kyiv's widening campaign against Russian energy exports after a Perm pumping station strike; overnight exchanges also killed civilians near Odesa and west of Moscow.
If Ukrainian strikes are raising global oil prices, is this strategy inadvertently funding Russia's war machine?
With Russia's 'shadow fleet' expanding, can Western sanctions ever truly cut off its oil revenue?
Are attacks on energy infrastructure a legitimate military tactic or a war crime against civilians?
How Ukraine’s Long-Range Drones and Naval USVs Are Crippling Russia’s Oil Revenue
Overview
In 2026, Ukraine launched a strategic campaign using advanced long-range aerial drones and unmanned surface vehicles to strike deep inside Russia, targeting critical oil infrastructure like the Perm pipeline hub and the Tuapse refinery, as well as shadow fleet tankers such as the MARQUISE. These precise attacks disrupted Russia's oil distribution and export logistics, causing significant economic losses estimated at $7 billion and slowing Russian growth. The strikes also triggered severe environmental damage, including oil spills and toxic pollution. While Ukraine defends these actions as necessary retaliation to weaken Russia's war funding, the campaign raises risks of escalation and has disrupted global oil markets by cutting Russian export capacity by up to 40%.