Ukraine hits Russia oil facilities

Moscow: Ukrainian drones are penetrating deep into Russian territory to strike critical oil infrastructure, aiming to deplete the Kremlin’s war chest. Recent attacks have hit refineries and terminals in Tuapse, Ust-Luga, and the Perm region, some over 1,500 km from the front lines. 

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the oil sector has suffered $7 billion in losses this year. However, the economic blow is offset by soaring global energy prices linked to West Asia tensions.

Ukrainian drones have hit the oil refinery and export terminal in the Black Sea town of Tuapse on four occasions in just over two weeks, sparking fires that prompted local evacuations and sent up massive plumes of smoke. The town is roughly 450 km from the front lines.

The strikes have significant environmental and psychological consequences. Residents near the Black Sea report toxic “black rain” and oily soot coating animals, while Governor Alexander Drozdenko has declared areas around St Petersburg a “front-line region”. Though President Vladimir Putin insists the situation is under control, recorded levels of the carcinogen benzene have spiked near strike zones.

Meanwhile, two people we­re killed after a Russian drone attacked a minibus in Ukra­ine’s Kherson, officials said on Saturday, in the latest barrage of civilian areas, a ha­llmark of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of its neighbour.