Last night, Ukrainian Telegram channels reported several Ukrainian attacks within Russia and in the occupied part of Ukraine. Long-range drones and Flamingo missiles were used in the attacks, according to monitoring accounts and videos. Later, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed an attack on occupied Berdiansk, confirmed attacks inside Russia without specifying the targets, and reported an attack in occupied Crimea.

Explosions reported in Belgorod, Krasnodar, Oryol, occupied Zaporizhzhia and Crimea

Around 17:00 on 12 November, Ukrainian Telegram channel Supernova+ shared photos showing fire and smoke near Nikolskoe in Russia's Belgorod Oblast north of Ukraine. The caption stated there were “reports of a UAV attack.”

Later, the same channel posted an image from Gulkevichi in Krasnodar Krai, southern Russia, showing a fire, reporting a power substation "incident" that left nearby Novokubansk without electricity.

Late on 12 November, Ukrainian Telegram channel Exilenova+ shared video footage of air defense activity in occupied Berdiansk, Zaporizhzhia Oblast. The channel noted that local residents reported two strikes, adding that this information “requires clarification.”

In the early hours of 13 November, Exilenova+ posted additional videos from Afipsky, a Russian settlement in Krasnodar Krai that hosts an oil refinery. Locals were heard complaining about the work of air defense systems during the apparent attack.

The same channel also reported an attack on Oryol, a city in western Russia. One of the videos showed burning debris falling from the sky. Later, Exilenova+ shared a photo showing structural damage at the Oryol thermal power plant — specifically, a large hole in a wall of one of its workshops. A Ukrainian airspace monitoring account, Nikolaevsky Vanyok, stated that Flamingo missiles had been used in the Oryol attack, sharing photos of a missile marked with the user’s avatar.

In occupied Crimea, explosions were reported in Feodosiya on the peninsula’s eastern coast. The Krymsky Veter Telegram channel said powerful blasts were heard in the area.

General Staff confirms hits in Berdiansk, Crimea, and unspecified targets in Russia

Later on 13 November, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine released a statement confirming a series of strikes. The Staff also shared a clip, showing launches of drones and missiles.

According to the military, "a number" of enemy targets were hit overnight in both occupied Ukraine and inside Russian territory. The specific extent of damage was still being assessed.

In occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Ukraine confirmed a hit on an oil depot near Berdiansk, as well as forward command posts belonging to Russia’s 5th Combined Arms Army and the 127th Motor Rifle Division.

In occupied Crimea, Ukrainian forces reported strikes on multiple military facilities. Targets included the Maritime Oil Terminal, helicopter parking areas, and drone preparation sites at the Kirovske airfield, and an air defense radar station near Yevpatoriya on the western coast. The General Staff did not mention the location of the oil terminal, but the report likely refers to the facility in Feodosiya.

While no specific Russian regions were mentioned, the General Staff stated that targets in Russia were also hit. The report emphasized that the strikes were part of a systemic campaign to degrade the logistical and offensive capabilities of Russian forces.

The General Staff noted that Ukraine employed various long-range strike systems in the operation, including domestically developed Flamingo missiles, and the drones such as Bars and Lyutyi.

Russian authorities are planning to begin gas extraction from the Sea of Azov, citing Soviet-era geological data and identifying 22 potential offshore fields, including several located near the occupied Ukrainian city of Berdiansk, Ukrainian officials told Suspilne on July 1.

According to the Berdiansk Municipal Military Administration, Russia's Federal Subsoil Resources Agency (Rosnedra) has announced plans to explore and possibly develop gas fields such as the Morske, Pivnichno-Kazantypske, and Skhidno-Kazantypske deposits.

"(Russia) has declared commercial reserves of gas in the Sea of Azov, referring to Soviet archives listing 22 oil and gas structures," Ksenia Kleshchenko, acting head of communications for the Berdiansk administration, told Suspilne.

"These include the Morske field, discovered in 1977 (and still under conservation). It is necessary to conduct further exploration and pilot operation."

Kleshchenko noted that the Pivnichno-Kazantypske and Skhidno-Kazantypske fields were discovered in the late 1990s and early 2000s during Ukraine's independence, but have not been developed. Ukrainian company Chornomornaftogaz had conducted surveys at the Pivnichno-Kazantypske and Strilkove sites before Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and seized Ukrainian offshore assets.

Ukrainian authorities say the Kremlin's interest in mineral resources may have partially motivated the occupation of southern Zaporizhzhia Oblast, including Berdiansk.

"All of the (Russia's) 'plans' are focused on enriching themselves and the Russian Federation, but not on the welfare of the citizens of the occupied territories," the Berdiansk administration said in a statement. "While residents of Berdiansk face constant water and electricity outages, (Russian authorities) are laying grand schemes to exploit the region’s resources."

The administration also warned of potential environmental consequences. Due to the shallow average depth of the Sea of Azov, around 14 meters (about 46 feet), any extraction could cause serious ecological damage. The exploratory work is reportedly planned for 2026–2030.

Russia's interest in resource-rich territories extends beyond the Sea of Azov. In June, Russian forces took control of a major lithium deposit near the village of Shevchenko in Donetsk Oblast, one of Ukraine's most valuable sites for the mineral used in electric vehicle batteries.

Ukraine has now lost two of its four known lithium deposits to Russian occupation, including the Kruta Balka deposit in Zaporizhzhia. According to the Kyiv School of Economics, Ukraine holds about one-third of the European Union's lithium reserves.

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During a targeted operation, Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) killed Mykhailo Hrytsai, a senior collaborator with Russian occupation authorities in Berdiansk, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, a HUR source told the Kyiv Independent on June 18.

According to the source, Hrytsai was directly involved in organizing repressions against the local Ukrainian population and establishing torture chambers for prisoners of war.

The collaborator was shot dead in the city using a silenced PM pistol, the source said.

Hrytsai served as the Russian-installed deputy mayor responsible for infrastructure, housing, utilities, and the energy sector. The source also said he facilitated the illegal seizure of municipal and state property in Berdiansk.

"There are still plenty of such targets — collaborators, accomplices of the enemy — in the occupied territories of Ukraine," the source said.

"We will definitely get to each and every one of them and put an end to their criminal activities by any means necessary: with or without a silencer, quietly or loudly, but always effectively."

A native of Poltava Oblast, Hrytsai had previously participated in Ukrainian political life. He was an assistant to a member of parliament and headed the Berdiansk branch of the Socialist Ukraine party before siding with Russian occupation forces.

Berdiansk, a port city on the Azov Sea, has been under Russian control since the early days of the full-scale invasion in 2022. It remains a critical logistics hub for Russian forces, facilitating the transport of looted Ukrainian grain and other resources.

On Feb. 20, another targeted strike in Berdiansk killed Yevgeny Bogdanov, the deputy head of the Russian-installed administration, according to Ukrainian military intelligence.

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