President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has praised Ukrainian forces for their attacks on military targets within Russia, following reports of several assaults including one on an airbase and an oil depot. “I want to thank each of our soldiers and everyone working in our defense industry for hitting Russian airbases, oil refineries, and logistics,” he stated in an announcement on Saturday.
Kyiv has intensified its airstrikes on Russian territory, claiming that these attacks are in retaliation for the bombardments Ukraine has endured since Russia’s invasion over two years ago. Earlier in the day, the Ukrainian military reported that they had sunk a submarine in the Russian-controlled Sevastopol, attacked a southern Russian airbase, and hit oil depots as well as fuel and lubricant storage facilities in the Belgorod, Kursk, and Rostov regions.
“A Russian submarine has sunk in the Black Sea,” the Ministry of Defense announced in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), identifying the vessel as the B-237 Rostov-on-Don attack submarine. The military’s General Staff reported that the attack on Sevastopol port also caused significant damage to four launchers of the S-400 air defense system, known as “Triumf.” Furthermore, the military indicated that they hit an ammunition depot at the Morozovsk airbase, where Russian forces stored guided air munitions among other equipment, as well as several oil depots and fuel storages during nighttime attacks.
“Every strike that precisely responds to Russia’s bombs, which destroy Russian logistics and bases, makes it harder for the occupiers to stay in our land – every such strike brings the just end of the war closer,” Zelenskyy remarked.
The Ukrainian president has repeatedly urged his Western allies for permission to use their weapons for long-range attacks on Russia, in addition to hitting military targets close to the border. He noted that Russian forces had used over 600 guided air munitions to attack Ukraine in the past week.
Meanwhile, local officials in Moscow reported that tanks at a fuel storage facility in the Kamensky district of the Rostov region had caught fire due to a drone strike. The regional governor of Belgorod, near Ukraine’s border, stated that drones launched from Kyiv caused a fire at an oil storage site, adding that the fire was extinguished and that there were no injuries reported.
Ukraine has dramatically increased its use of long-range drones this year to attack Russian oil facilities, attempting to damage sites that support Russia’s military efforts and economy. Kyiv has also increasingly claimed responsibility for attacks on Russian-controlled territory during Russia’s 29-month invasion of Ukraine.