Ukraine is intensifying strikes on Russian energy infrastructure in an effort to curb the Kremlin’s revenues amid higher oil prices linked to the Iran war. Tuapse has been targeted multiple times since early April, forcing Russia to declare a regional emergency in the city of more than 60,000 people that’s home to one of the country’s largest Black Sea ports and a refinery owned by Rosneft PJSC.
Cleanup operations in Tuapse following an oil spill caused by earlier drone attacks are still going on, local authorities said. As of May 26, more than 32,200 cubic meters (113,700 cubic feet) of contaminated soil and oil-water mixture had been collected and removed.Separately, Ukraine launched a massive drone attack overnight on Enerhodar, the town that hosts the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, with more than 50 explosions recorded, the occupied plant’s spokeswoman Yevgenia Yashina told Russia’s Interfax newswire on Wednesday. Parts of Enerhodar, in Russian-occupied southeastern Ukraine, lost power and communications were severely disrupted, she said.
Ukraine hasn’t commented on the Enerhodar strike allegations so far.
Overall, Russia faced 140 drones overnight across multiple regions, the Defense Ministry said. Several regions, including Voronezh that borders Ukraine, reported missile alerts. Voronezh Governor Alexander Gusev said air defenses detected and destroyed two high-speed aerial targets over the city early Wednesday, and falling debris damaged a tire repair shop and a utility cabin.
Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, also faced attacks overnight including with more than 20 drones targeting the port city of Sevastopol, according to the Moscow-appointed Governor Mikhail Razvozhaev.
Russia launched 163 drones on Ukraine overnight, including Shahed attack drones, decoy drones and jet-powered UAVs, Ukraine’s Air Force said Wednesday.
