Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) struck two sanctioned Russian oil tankers with naval drones in the Black Sea, the SBU said. The vessels belong to the shadow fleet Moscow uses to sell crude around Western sanctions, and Russian aircraft tried and failed to stop the attack.

Two tankers, one sanctions-busting job

The SBU, working with the Navy, hit the ocean-going tankers Louise 1 and Banda — both under Ukrainian sanctions — with Mamai naval drones. 

Louise 1 had moved Russian crude through the G7 and EU embargo, loading at Baltic and Black Sea ports with its transponder switched off. In 2026 alone, it carried nearly 3 million tons of Russian Urals crude, the SBU said.

Banda had run Russian crude out of four ports: Ust-Luga, Kerch, Novorossiysk, and Nakhodka.

As the drones closed in, Russian aircraft fired machine guns and dropped bombs at them, without success, the SBU said. 

The service calls each shadow-fleet tanker a legitimate target and a working part of Russia's war machine. Every strike, it says, cuts the oil money paying for the invasion.

A week earlier, the SBU's Sea Baby drone hit the sanctioned tanker Blue in Ukraine's waters off occupied Yalta. Ukraine has spent 2026 turning cheap drones into kinetic sanctions on Russia's tanker fleet. Sea Baby drones have wrecked shadow-fleet tankers across the Black Sea since late 2025.

The air campaign running alongside it

The naval strikes run in parallel with an aerial-drone campaign by the Unmanned Systems Forces (SBS). On 16 July, SBS operators struck 11 more shadow-fleet vessels — five oil tankers, a gas carrier, three dry-cargo ships, and two tugs.

That brought the 6–16 July total to 147 vessels: 117 in the Sea of Azov and 30 in the Black Sea.

"The goal: paralysis of the logistics of oil, fuel, and cargo that bypasses sanctions," commander Robert "Madyar" Brovdi wrote. 

Fracking billionaire Harold Hamm is co-chair of a non-profit that has aggressively pushed for US energy dominance

Tycoon Harold Hamm is one of the US’s most successful oilmen, the son of Oklahoma sharecroppers who hit it rich as a “wildcatter” and pioneered fracking techniques that drove the shale boom in 2008 that reversed declining US oil production. Donald Trump describes him as a “long time” friend and is said to have called him his “original oil guy” behind closed doors.

The Continental Resources founder has also faced scrutiny from climate advocates and groups and some Democratic lawmakers over his influence on Trump and role in pushing him to go all in on planet-heating fossil fuels and gut climate rules.

Greece is blocking the European Union's newest round of sanctions on Russian gas to shield a single shipping company, the Financial Times reported. The objection has stalled the bloc's 21st sanctions package for a week and forced an emergency extension of the cap on Russian oil prices. At the center sits one Greek tycoon and a fleet of tankers built for Russia's Arctic.

The company at the center

Athens is protecting Dynagas after its ambassador warned the sanctions would "ruin" the company owned by Greek shipowner George Prokopiou. Greece's ambassador to the EU told fellow envoys on Wednesday that the planned measures, which would ban transporting Russian LNG to third countries, would "ruin" the firm, two people briefed on his remarks said. Two others confirmed he had named Dynagas as the reason Greece could not back the package.

Dynagas has moved more than 10 million tons of Russian LNG since the start of 2025, the FT calculated using data from analytics firm Kpler, identifying 11 of its ships that completed 144 voyages in that time.

Explore further

Europe can legally quit Russian LNG today. It keeps choosing not to.

A veto that freezes the whole package

The EU's 21st sanctions package needs unanimous support, so one refusal is enough to hold it. Greece's objection has left the rest of the package stalled, freezing planned measures against additional Russian banks, crypto platforms, and defense-industry firms. The package also carries a mechanism to lower the ceiling above which companies may legally buy and transport Russian crude. 

The bloc's previous round added 46 shadow-fleet tankers to its blacklist, bringing the total past 630 ships.

Prokopiou controls Dynagas alongside Dynacom, whose Russian-crude trade has brought in $915 million over three years — the biggest such haul of any Greek shipowner. When the US-Israel war with Iran erupted, Dynacom was among the earliest operators willing to run tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.

Ukraine's strikes on Russian refineries are pushing Moscow to export crude it can no longer process at home, Bloomberg reported. Buyers are not taking it fast enough, so Russian oil is piling up on tankers at sea. The value of those exports keeps sliding, and tanker loadings dipped in the week to 12 July.

Ukraine's refinery strikes are forcing crude onto the water

Ukraine has stepped up its strikes on Russia's refineries. Yesterday, it hit the Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat plant far inside Russia, and the Afipsky facility near the Black Sea. The wave of attacks has driven Russian refining runs to their lowest in more than 21 years this month. That deepens a domestic fuel crunch and squeezes the global market. With less crude to process at home, Moscow is likely diverting more into exports as its own production falls. Russia pumped 8.93 million barrels a day in June — about 830,000 below the level it promised the OPEC+ producer group.

The Azov Sea wasn’t enough—Ukraine’s drones followed Russia’s oil fleet into the Black Sea

The oil is piling up faster than buyers take it

Soaring exports are not being matched by deliveries. So Russian crude is stacking up on tankers, loaded but not yet discharged, Bloomberg wrote. The total has climbed back near its start-of-2026 highs — about 135 million barrels by Sunday.

Cargoes are building up near Egypt in the Mediterranean and east of Singapore. Five Urals tankers are anchored off Egypt, and another five have halted near Singapore, a gathering point for shadow-fleet ships hauling sanctioned oil. A growing share of the oil at sea is on vessels that seem to be sitting idle rather than sailing.

Fewer tankers, and less money for the same oil

Russia shipped 3.98 million barrels of crude a day in the week to 12 July, down from 4.08 million. Year-to-date volumes remain above every annual average since 2022, yet the four-week export value fell $200 million to $1.68 billion a week. Urals prices have nearly halved since mid-April.

Russia sent 4 million barrels of oil a day toward Asia. Only about half was openly bound for India and China, while 1.9 million barrels a day remained undeclared, likely until tankers crossed the Arabian Sea. Türkiye took 160,000 barrels a day, and Syria 40,000.

Ukraine's aerial attack drones opened a new front against Russia's sanctions-dodging shadow fleet, striking 20 vessels in the Black Sea in a single night, the Unmanned Systems Forces (SBS) reported. The raid launched the Black Sea phase of a campaign that had until now played out in the Sea of Azov, and it pushed the 10-day tally well past a hundred ships.

The Black Sea cluster opens

Overnight on 15 July, SBS operators struck 17 oil tankers, two gas carriers, and one tug in Black Sea waters. Six drone units ran the raid together: the 9th "Kairos" Battalion of the 414th "Magyar's Birds" Brigade, the 1st Separate Center, the 20th "K-2" Brigade, the 412th "Nemesis" Brigade, the 427th "Rarog" Brigade, and the 413th "Raid" Regiment.

The two gas carriers fell to Nemesis and Raid operators. The 1st Separate Center took the tug.

The timing was deliberate. SBS commander Robert "Madyar" Brovdi wrote that the Black Sea cluster of operation MoLoChKa ("Dairy") opened on 15 July, the Day of Ukrainian Statehood. He framed the night as a scoreline: 20 to nil.

136 ships in 10 days

The Black Sea haul adds to a running total that has climbed fast. From 6 to 15 July, Ukraine's drones struck 136 vessels of Russia's shadow fleet across both seas.

Of those, 116 went down in the Sea of Azov between 6 and 14 July, as an earlier daily count tracked. The 20 Black Sea kills on 15 July carried the campaign west into deeper, wider water.

Bigger tankers, a different aim point

The Black Sea vessels seen in the SBS video are ocean-going ships, far larger than the flat-bottomed river couriers Ukraine has been burning along the Azov feeder route. The footage from the FP-1 or FP-2 attack drones shows the operators aiming mostly for the deck structures rather than the bridges, with follow-up drones filming the fires that spread after the first strikes.

The operation's stated goal is steady disruption of Russian logistics and the money behind them. Disabling tankers, cargo ships, and support vessels complicates oil exports and limits Russia's ability to fuel its troops and the occupation force in Crimea.

Recent strikes have sent oil prices climbing again, with average gas price per gallon up by $0.70 compared with 2025

Inflation cooled to an annual rate of 3.5% in June as the brief US-Iran ceasefire, which has since ended, brought energy prices down, according to new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The consumer price index (CPI), which measures a basket of goods and services, has been elevated since the start of the war, largely because of higher energy prices. After mostly staying under 3% since mid-2024, CPI reached a three-year high of 4.2% in May – up from 2.4% in February. Month-over-month, CPI fell 0.8% in June, the largest one-month decrease since April 2020.

Bulgaria has pulled out of the Coalition of the Willing, the group of nations backing Ukraine against Russian aggression, Bloomberg reported. Pro-Russian Prime Minister Rumen Radev announced the exit on 14 July, a day after skipping the coalition's Paris summit. The move is the latest in a string of anti-Ukrainian steps Sofia has taken since Radev took office in May.

"Not prolonging it by military means"

Radev told reporters on 14 July that Bulgaria rejects the coalition's core purpose.

"We're not participating in a coalition that insists on continuing financial and military aid to Ukraine. The solution to this conflict is not in prolonging it by military means, but in a strong diplomatic mission that will finally put an end to the escalation," he stated.

Bulgaria attended previous coalition meetings but sent no representative to the Paris gathering. The withdrawal distances the Balkan country further from the EU majority standing behind Kyiv. Radev has repeatedly rejected accusations of siding with Russia, claiming he favors "pragmatic" relations with the Kremlin.

A pattern two months in the making

The coalition exit caps a rapid reversal of Bulgarian policy. Radev, a former president who called occupied Crimea Russian, became Prime Minister in May after his party won the country's eighth election in five years. He promptly halted government-supplied military aid to Kyiv, though commercial arms sales continue.

Explore further

Italy joins Bulgaria in resisting EU sanctions on Patriarch Kirill

Radev has also promised to block EU sanctions moves against two prominent Russians: Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, and oligarch Vagit Alekperov, the founder of oil giant Lukoil.

Energy prices later stabilise after Trump abandons plan for 20% levy on traffic through strait of Hormuz

Oil and gas prices jumped and expectations of interest rate rises in Europe increased on Tuesday after the US carried out a third night of military strikes against Iran.

However, they later eased back after Donald Trump said he would abandon his proposal for the US to levy a 20% fee on cargo passing through the strait of Hormuz.

Ukrainian drones set fires at two Russian oil facilities at opposite ends of the country overnight on 14 July, according to monitoring channels and Russian regional authorities. The Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat petrochemical complex burned in Bashkortostan, some 1,300 km from the war zone, while the Afipsky refinery caught fire in Krasnodar Krai, around 400 km from the front. A Rosneft oil depot next to the Salavat plant was likely hit as well.

The last big gasoline producer still standing

Residents of Salavat heard a series of explosions in the early hours, then watched thick black smoke climb over the industrial zone, visible across the city. Ukrainian monitoring Telegram channel Exilenova+ published footage of the fires. Russian news Telegram channel Astra confirmed through its OSINT analysis that the Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat complex was struck and burning.

The complex was the last major gasoline producer that strikes had not yet touched in 2026. Its loss means roughly 11,000 tons of daily fuel deliveries gone from the Russian market — about 5% of domestic demand. Drones already struck the plant twice in September 2025, after which the regional head insisted it worked on as normal.

Preliminary damage: primary unit and polyethylene workshop

Ukrainian monitoring channel Supernova+ reported preliminary hits on the AVT-6 primary oil distillation unit and workshop No. 20, which produces high-density polyethylene. Nothing leaves a refinery without primary distillation, so damage there stops the whole production chain.

The strike likely reached beyond the complex itself. The Rosneft-Opt oil depot nearby probably caught fire too, according to Astra.

Bashkortostan head Radiy Khabirov claimed a "massive attack" of drones on Salavat's industrial zone was repelled. He attributed the "pockets of smoke" to falling debris of downed drones and stated nobody was hurt. Russia's aviation authority restricted operations at the Ufa airport during the attack.

Afipsky burns again at the other end of the fuel map

In Krasnodar Krai, the first explosions near the Afipsky refinery sounded around midnight, and a powerful fire followed, Ukrainian monitoring channel Krymsky Veter reported. The blaze rose near the plant's tank farm, according to Astra's analysis of witness footage. The Krasnodar Krai operational headquarters confirmed the fire at the refinery after the drone attack.

Explore further

Fires at both ends of Russia’s fuel chain: a Lukoil depot in Stavropol Krai and a ferry port facing Kerch

The export-oriented plant runs two primary distillation units with capacities of 9,786 and 8,829 tons per day and does not currently make gasoline or diesel for the domestic market, Reuters reported. Together with the affiliated Krasnodar refinery, it processed 7.2 million tons in 2024 and 3 million tons in the first half of 2025. Ukraine's General Staff puts its share at about 2.1% of Russia's refining.

Brent crude rises 5% after US president says 20% toll will be imposed on key trade route to cover ‘safety and security’

Oil prices rose 5% on Monday as Donald Trump reinstated the US blockade of Iranian shipping in the Gulf and will charge other countries to pass through the strait of Hormuz.

As the US and Iran exchanged strikes amid an escalating standoff over the vital trade route, the price of Brent crude climbed to $79.37 a barrel.

Ukrainian drones struck an oil depot near Stavropol and set fire to the port that ferries Russian fuel and ammunition into occupied Crimea overnight on 13 July, according to monitoring channels. It was the second depot hit in the same locality in four days. Russia's local authorities confirmed the fire.

Two depots, four days, one kilometer apart

Drones hit the depot next to the railway in Vyazniki, near Stavropol, southern Russia, late at night, Russian news Telegram channel Astra reported after reviewing footage and eyewitness accounts. A powerful fire broke out. Ukrainian monitoring channel Exilenova+ showed it was still burning at 9 a.m. Ukrainian monitoring channel Supernova+ said at least two tanks caught fire. The blaze continued into the afternoon.

Residents of Mykhailovsk — the town adjoining Vyazniki — and nearby settlements reported a series of powerful explosions. Fuel tanks then began exploding, spreading the fire.

Stavropol Krai governor Vladimir Vladimirov confirmed the drone raid on the "outskirts of Stavropol" and the fire in the industrial zone of Vyazniki. He claimed nobody was hurt. Authorities evacuated residents of the street next to the industrial zone because of the risk of further explosions.

The port that keeps Crimea supplied

In Krasnodar Krai's Temryuk district, the regional operational headquarters reported a fire "on the territory of one of the enterprises." Ukrainian monitoring group Krymsky Veter identified the site from satellite imagery: the oil products transshipment complex and the railway station of the port of Kavkaz.

Explore further

Ukraine hits 15 Russian vessels as drone blockade of Crimea spreads across Azov Sea

Port Kavkaz links Russia to occupied Crimea through the Kerch ferry crossing. Russia has used those ferries to push ammunition, weapons, and fuel onto the peninsula. Ukraine hit the port on 21 and 23 June, igniting its oil terminal. After the first of those strikes, Krasnodar authorities suspended ferry traffic and told truck drivers to reach Crimea by the land corridor instead.

Russia's Defense Ministry claimed air defenses and electronic warfare "intercepted" 342 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones over 16 regions, including Moscow and Moscow Oblast, and over the Azov and Black seas. 

Proposed legal settlement over 2022 oil spill would resolve allegations that South Bow violated clean water laws

A proposed legal settlement with the US government would require the Keystone pipeline system’s operator to pay a $26.9m civil penalty over a large oil spill in Kansas in December 2022 and spend about $40m more to prevent future accidents.

The agreement would resolve allegations from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Kansas that South Bow, based in Canada, violated US and state clean water laws. The rupture dumped nearly 13,000 barrels of heavy crude oil into a creek running through a rural pasture in Washington county, Kansas, about 150 miles (241km) north-west of Kansas City.

Strikes and bluster on both sides, with Israel urging on Washington, are endangering the progress made

The cycle’s familiarity should not obscure the gravity of the consequences as the US and Iran return to threats, strikes and a futile search for an exit from war via escalation. On Sunday, Tehran said that it had closed the strait of Hormuz again. The World Food Programme is already feeding 1.5 million fewer people this year owing to the illegal war launched by the US and Israel. Vulnerable countries are suffering most as existing crises are compounded: an extra 2.5 million people in Somalia and 2.3 million in Afghanistan are struggling to meet basic food needs.

Even de-escalation would not fix this humanitarian crisis. The full impact on food production has yet to be felt. The strait was key to global fertiliser exports; as prices soared, many farmers cut back on use. The drying up of remittances from migrant workers in the Gulf hurts Asian as well as African nations.

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

Ukrainian FP-1 strike drones set Russia's Syzran oil refinery burning on 12 July, and the damage to the facility may be the campaign's largest single result in months, Ukrainian OSINT analysts assessed. Analysis of footage shared by local residents points to hits on every primary crude processing unit at the Rosneft plant. The facility, some 800 km from the warzone, has burned many times before.

Fire before dawn

The attack came in the night and morning of 11–12 July, with footage of the strikes appearing from around 4:30 a.m., monitoring Telegram channels Supernova+ reported along with Exilenova+ and others. A large fire broke out on the refinery grounds and was still burning as of 7 a.m. Kyiv time, per local residents' photos and videos. OSINT channel Dnipro Osint assessed that the strike probably damaged the ELOU-AVT-5 installation, which provides up to 30% of the plant's primary processing. Russian news Telegram channel Astra confirmed through its own OSINT analysis that the fire burned on the Syzran refinery's territory. 

"100% of primary processing capacity"

OSINT channel Cyberboroshno went further, mapping the damage to three key units, coordinates included. The FP-1 drones hit the AVT-5 primary processing unit (2.6 million tons a year, 30% of primary capacity) and the AVT-6 unit (6.3 million tons, the remaining 70%). A third hit landed on the LCh-35/11-600 catalytic reformer, which makes essential gasoline components.

The hit on the reformer, the channel noted, was accidental. The video shared by Exilenova+ shows the unit's stack suddenly appearing in a drone's flight path, triggering an airburst of the warhead directly above the installation. The shrapnel cloud shredded the unit, which later footage shows on fire — an accident that worked in Ukraine's favor.

The sum, per Cyberboroshno: 100% of the plant's primary processing capacity damaged, a combined 8.9 million tons a year. With no crude distillation running, the analysts noted, the refinery produces nothing at all. By the volume of capacity hit, the channel called it possibly the biggest single result of recent months — larger than the strike on the AVT-11 unit at the Omsk refinery, estimated at 8.4 million tons at the time of that attack.

As the long-range drones targeted the refinery deep inside Russia, the medium-range UAVs hit more tankers in the Sea of Azov: 

Explore further

One Russian ship every 112 minutes for a week: Ukraine hits 14 more vessels as total tally nears 100

A plant that keeps burning

The refinery is a veteran target. Drones struck it on 21 May 2026, seriously damaging the AVT-6 unit — then responsible for over 70% of the plant's capacity — and forcing a prolonged full stop. Reuters reported on 25 May, citing sources, that the plant had suspended operations. An earlier attack came on 18 April, and drones hit the plant three times in August 2025 alone. The 21 May attack was already the 11th strike on Syzran.

Ukrainian drones hit 14 more Russian vessels — 10 tankers and four ferries — overnight on 12 July in the Sea of Azov, Unmanned Systems Forces (SBS) commander Robert "Madyar" Brovdi reported. The strikes cap a week in which Ukraine hit 90 ships serving Russia's continued occupation of Crimea and the fuel trade in the Black Sea region. Moscow, a week into the losses, has shown no visible attempt to defend its commercial shadow fleet.

One vessel every 112 minutes 

This morning, Brovdi wrote:

"14 vessels on the night of 12 July: 10 tankers and 4 ferries," the commander said, adding that this puts the week of 6–12 July at 90 units of Russia's shadow fleet hunted down by the "birds" of SBS. 

That works out to one Russian tanker, tug, dry cargo carrier, or special vessel struck every 112 minutes of the week. 

"Moscow will fall," the commander added.

His post carries video of the strikes:

Among the identifiable targets are the ferries Mariya, Yeysk, and Sky One — the latter hit in the port of occupied Kerch by pilots of the 413th Raid Regiment — plus an unnamed ferry used for transport across the Kerch Strait.

The SBS's live scoreboard currently shows 14 new strikes on Russian shipping. The tally can move in either direction during the day — up or down — as internal reports get verified. The total of Russian ships hit in July now stands at 91.

NASA FIRMS satellite data shows fires in the usual location — the anchorage north of occupied Kerch.

Small tankers, double duty

The shadow fleet tankers under attack are not blue-water, ocean-going ships. They are smaller—yet mostly also sanctioned—vessels built for Russia's internal waterways, sized to squeeze through the Volga-Don Canal. Russia has moved them en masse to the Azov and Black seas for two jobs: pumping export fuel at sea into ocean-going shadow-fleet tankers sailing with trackers switched off, and supplying occupied Crimea.

Damaging them en masse kills two birds with one stone. Each disabled tanker cuts the volume of Russian oil exports at the source and tightens the noose around the occupied peninsula. And beyond the material damage sits the sheer shame: shipping disabled in such quantities has not been seen since World War II.

Disable, don't sink

Madyar's videos show the method. Ukrainian drones consistently go for the ships' superstructure and bridge, or sometimes the propulsion section at the stern. The goal appears to be to render the vessels uncontrollable rather than send them under.

Sinking would demand more drones per ship — and would cause an ecological disaster in the shallow Sea of Azov. Moreover, the tugs that come to evacuate the ships-turned-barges become the next targets.

Russia can't fight back

About a week into the campaign against its shipping, Russia has shown no sign of trying to protect the vessels — no warplanes or helicopters, no navy ships, not even onboard firearms. Some ships display metal bars rigged in front of the bridge, a passive, improvised anti-drone screen that is useless against the powerful FP-1 and FP-2 strike drones. 

Moscow's only visible reaction has been retreat: it halted shipping through the Don-Azov canal and closed the Kerch Strait after the tanker strikes — pulling its disabled vessels off the water instead of defending them.

The pace shows why. Just the night before, the tally was staggering: "28 vessels of Russia's shadow fleet hunted down on the night of 11 July in the Azov Sea by the Birds of SBS," Madyar wrote yesterday: 

And the ships were only part of that night's work — the SBS also hit nine energy nodes in the occupied territories, the Saky thermal power plant, a training ground, a special communications node, and what the commander called an enemy lair in Horlivka, Donetsk Oblast.

Ukrainian drones set fires across Russia's oil infrastructure overnight and into midday on 10 July, monitoring channels and Russian officials reported. The Ilsky refinery in Krasnodar Krai, a port oil terminal in Taganrog, and a fuel depot in Azov burned, while fires were reported near refineries in Moscow and Tatarstan. 

Ilsky refinery burns for the fifth time this year

Drones struck the Ilsky refinery in the Severskaya settlement of Krasnodar Krai, the regional operational headquarters claimed, attributing the fire to "falling debris" of downed drones. Ukrainian channels published footage of the blaze. Drone fragments also fell in a courtyard of a detached house and at a local enterprise, the headquarters claimed, reporting no casualties.

Ukraine's General Staff confirmed the previous strike on 2 June.

Taganrog: the port's oil terminal ablaze, residents evacuated

The attack on Taganrog lasted all night, local residents reported. Fires broke out at the port, where the Kurganneftprodukt terminal — annual transshipment volume of 1.2 million tons — burned, Ukrainian channels reported. The facility reloads oil products from rail onto sea vessels in the Azov Sea. Astra's OSINT analysis identified the burning site as the Kurganneftprodukt fuel depot.

City mayor Svetlana Kambulova claimed an evacuation of residents whose homes fell into the emergency zone, TASS reported. Rostov Oblast Governor Yuri Slyusar claimed firefighters were extinguishing the port fire, with drone debris damaging a detached house and an administrative building's roof.

A fire also broke out near the Taganrog Aviation College, which trains specialists for Rostov Oblast's aviation and machine-building industries, Petro Andriushchenko of the Center for the Study of Occupation reported.

Drones damaged at least two tankers in Taganrog Bay the night before, and a tanker and a fuel reservoir burned there after strikes on 30 May. Ukraine's drone forces destroyed an Iskander launcher and two Tu-142 planes at the city's military airfield in late May.

Town of Azov: fuel tanks burn behind their protective nets

A series of explosions hit the city of Azov near Rostov-on-Don, where the largest fire engulfed an oil depot, Exilenova+ reported with OSINT analysts confirming the blaze. The depot sits by the Azov sea port and stores and transships light oil products. Ukrainian channels identified the site preliminarily as the DonTerminal depot. Footage shows Russia had covered the reservoirs with anti-drone nets — the strike hit them regardless on the morning of 10 July.

The drones also struck the Azov Optical-Mechanical Plant, which makes sights, rangefinders, thermal imagers, and fire-control systems for Russian aircraft, armor, and warships. The plant belongs to Russia's Tactical Missiles Corporation and was targeted by drones in July 2025.

Slyusar claimed about 35 drones were downed over Taganrog, Azov, and two districts, with fires at two oil-product storage sites in Azov and an administrative building in the village of Kagalnik. An Azov resident wrote in the comments that the city's sirens sounded only after the fires had started. Eyewitness footage suggests Ukraine's Defense Forces used domestically made FP-1 or FP-2 kamikaze drones for the Rostov Oblast strikes, as the targets sit relatively close to the front line.

Moscow: drones through the night, a fire near the Kapotnya refinery

Moscow came under drone attack through the night of 10 July, with Domodedovo airport temporarily halting flights, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin claimed. Sobyanin's posts counted six drones downed overnight, four more toward morning, and five by midday — 19 claimed in total. Russian Telegram channels reported similar restrictions at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo airport.

By midday, Exilenova+ shared a video showing a tank farm with one tank burning and reported a fire in the area of the Kapotnya refinery in Moscow, with details being clarified. Astra reported a declared missile danger in Moscow Oblast alongside the unconfirmed Kapotnya fire, with authorities urging residents to stay away from windows. 

Nizhnekamsk smokes again

Exilenova+ also reported a fresh fire in the area of the Nizhnekamsk refinery in Tatarstan, with details pending. Ukrainian drones struck the Nizhnekamsk refining cluster two days earlier.

Russia's Defense Ministry claimed air defenses intercepted 376 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones overnight across Belgorod, Bryansk, Kaluga, Kursk, Leningrad, Novgorod, Pskov, Rostov, Smolensk, and Tver oblasts, the Moscow region, Krasnodar Krai, occupied Crimea, and the Azov Sea.

Greenland Energy says billions of barrels of crude could lie beneath territory and claims it has permission to bring drilling kit ashore – a claim denied by Nuuk

On 10 June, a snowy-haired American in his 60s addressed the residents of a remote Greenland hamlet. He was there to tell them about a business venture supported by figures linked to Donald Trump. “So,” Robert Price said via an interpreter, “we have a project to drill for oil here.”

The Texas oil company that Price represents, Greenland Energy, hopes to prove that billions of barrels of crude lie underground by bringing in 300 shipping containers of drilling kit.

Dow down 1.09%, or 500 points, as S&P 500 sees a small loss and tech-heavy Nasdaq rises slightly

• Middle East crisis live

US stock markets fell on Wednesday as the US continued strikes on Iran and the Federal Reserve flagged concerns that would warrant higher interest rates.

Donald Trump’s declaration at the Nato summit in Ankara that the Iran-US ceasefire is over sent oil prices sharply higher on Wednesday. Brent crude, the global benchmark, jumped more than 5% to crest $80 a barrel. US stocks fell in step, with the Dow down 1.09%, or 500 points, at closing Wednesday afternoon. The S&P 500 saw a small loss while the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose slightly. Global stocks had fallen earlier in the day, with the UK’s FTSE 100 down 1% as Japan’s Nikkei fell 2.1%.

Ukrainian drones struck oil refineries and fuel infrastructure across several Russian regions overnight on 8 July, monitoring channels, Russian officials, and Ukraine's military reported. Fires broke out at the Saratov refinery, the Nizhnekamsk oil-processing plants in Tatarstan, and an oil-products pumping station in Bashkortostan, some 1,500 kilometers from the border. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the hits, calling them the latest of Ukraine's "long-range sanctions."

Saratov refinery burns after 3 a.m. strike

Monitoring groups began reporting explosions and a drone attack on the Saratov refinery around 3 a.m., the Telegram channel Exilenova+ said. The regional authorities had warned shortly before that Russian troops flagged a threat of drones. The local airport then restricted flights.

Saratov Governor Roman Busargin reported damage to civilian infrastructure, one person killed, and several injured. He did not name the refinery, though Ukrainian channels published footage of the moment of the strike. Astra confirmed the hit and fire.

Two Nizhnekamsk refineries hit in Tatarstan

By morning, drones reached the refining cluster in Nizhnekamsk, Tatarstan, where smoke was visible from neighboring towns. Ukraine's Special Operations Forces said they struck the TANECO complex and the TAIF-NK plant.

Astra's OSINT analyst named the probable target as TAIF-NK, with eyewitness footage showing a drone falling near the plant. Other monitors reported drones grazing the TAIF refinery and then striking TANECO. 

Previously, the Ukrainian military hit both TANECO and TAIF-NK on 12 June, and earlier struck Nizhnekamskneftekhim itself.

Security service hits Bashkortostan pumping station

Ukraine's SBU security service reported a successful strike on the Cherkassy oil-products pumping station in Bashkortostan, 1,500 kilometers from the border. At least eight SBU drones worked over the target, sparking a fire in the tank farm and at the station's production facilities.

"We consistently find and destroy the infrastructure that supplies the enemy army with fuel, logistics, and resources for war," SBU head Yevhen Khmara wrote. 

Astra separately assessed that Ukrainian drones probably also hit the Bashneft-UNPZ refinery in Ufa, where footage showed only smoke; Ukrainian channels said "Liutyi" drones carried out that attack.

Gas compressor station and airfield also targeted

The evening before, drones hit the Krasnodarskaya gas compressor station on Russia's Krasnodar Krai, Astra said. The Gazprom facility cleans, dries, and compresses natural gas for trunk routes, including the "Blue Stream" pipeline. Krasnodar Krai's operational headquarters confirmed a fire at an enterprise in the village of Smolenskaya after drone debris fell.

Ukraine's General Staff said the overnight strikes also hit the Borisoglebsk military airfield in Voronezh Oblast, alongside the Saratov and Nizhnekamsk refineries and six Russian shadow fleet tankers in the Black and Azov seas.

The six damaged tankers — one in the Black Sea, five in the Azov — were part of Russia's shadow fleet used to supply its forces in southern Ukraine, the General Staff said. Ukraine's drone forces reported that maritime campaign separately, putting the running total at 21 vessels struck in 72 hours.

President Zelenskyy confirmed the refinery hits. 

"Today our long-range sanctions reached the Saratov region, Tatarstan, and Bashkortostan, at distances of about 800, 1,400, and 1,500 km from the front line. Also, Voronezh Oblast, about 300 km from our border," he said.

Ukraine's Defense Forces destroyed two road bridges in Russia's Belgorod Oblast that fed a Russian army supply route toward the Kupiansk front, the Ukrainian military news outlet Militarnyi reported. Both crossings spanned the Urayeva River in the Valuysky district near the border. Russian authorities responded by closing a section of the road for nearly a month.

Two bridges over one river in one day

The Belgorod-focused Telegram channel Pepel Belgorod reported the first destroyed crossing on 7 July. That bridge stood at the village of Kolykhalino, and a missile strike reportedly brought it down. The road over it led to the Russian border town of Urazovo and a cluster of border villages, including Dvoluchnoye, Zherdevka, Mirnoye, and Berezhanka.

Later the same day, eyewitness videos showed a second wrecked bridge over the same river, between Urazovo and the border village of Dvoluchnoye. Local residents believe an aviation bomb may have hit it.

The published footage shows severe destruction. The central span collapsed on one bridge. The other lost its road surface and suffered damage to load-bearing structures. Neither can carry vehicle traffic in its current state. Ukrainian aviation dropped two other Belgorod Oblast bridges serving Russian military movements back in March 2025.

Route fed Russia's Kupiansk grouping

Russian occupation forces used this route to move equipment, ammunition, and personnel toward the Kupiansk direction, the channel said. The road ran through the Logachyovka border crossing, which the Russian army used to supply its units on the occupied territory of Kharkiv Oblast.

Kupiansk remains one of the war's flashpoints. Ukrainian forces cleared the city of encircled Russian troops, yet Russia keeps pressing the area with infiltration attempts, including through disused gas pipelines.

Month-long road closure

After the reports about the bridges, Belgorod Oblast's transport ministry restricted movement on the Valuyki–Urazovo–Logachyovka road section. Driving and parking on that stretch are banned from 7 July to 5 August. With both crossings down, only two paved roads and several dirt tracks now lead into Urazovo, the channel noted.

The bridge strikes came the same night fire engulfed Belgorod's linear production facility of main gas pipelines after a missile strike, Militarnyi wrote earlier. That enterprise runs gas transport lines and supplies natural gas to the city and the region.

Russia has again accused the Baltic states of enabling Ukrainian drone attacks on its territory, this time claiming to hold "verified data," the Moscow Times reported. The accusation came right after Ukrainian drones struck Russian port infrastructure on the Baltic coast. It repeats a pattern of evidence-free Russian claims against NATO's eastern members that Western officials and analysts read as escalation groundwork.

"Verified data" that no one has seen

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin claimed that Riga and other capitals of the region open "air corridors" for drones attacking Russia. 

"Let us remind you that we have verified data that Latvia and other Baltic republics have already provided their air corridors for Ukrainian drones that attacked our country's civilian infrastructure," he stated to Russian state news agency RIA Novosti. 

He presented no evidence — Russia never does when it levels such accusations.

Explore further

Fuel shortages reach Moscow and St. Petersburg as Ukraine’s strikes squeeze Russian refining

The strikes behind the timing

Ukrainian drones hit the St. Petersburg oil terminal, the Vysotsk port, and Kronstadt overnight on 4 July. Several fires broke out at the terminal, which handles 12.5 million tons of petroleum products a year. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine's forces struck the port infrastructure with which the Kremlin "earns money for the Russian war." In Kronstadt, he noted, the target was military. The raid extended Ukraine's campaign against Russia's Baltic oil export gateway.

Explore further

US soldiers left for a “summer rotation.” Estonia doesn’t know how many are coming back—or when

A recycled accusation

Russia's Defense Ministry made the same charge in May, claiming that a group of six Ukrainian-made Lutyi drones crossed Latvian airspace in an attempted "terrorist attack on civilian infrastructure objects" near St. Petersburg. Riga denied it, and Russia's UN envoy then threatened Latvia with retaliation, drawing condemnation from Washington and Brussels.

Before that, in April, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova and Maritime Board chief Nikolai Patrushev claimed the Baltic states and Finland lend their airspace to Ukrainian drones. Patrushev asserted this served strikes on Russia's "non-military maritime infrastructure and merchant fleet," naming the Primorsk and Ust-Luga ports in Leningrad Oblast.

Explore further

What Moscow does to foreign embassies, Latvia will now do to Russia’s

Threats as a pattern

The recycled accusations fit a run of consistent Russian threats against the EU and the Baltic states. Institute for the Study of War analysts assessed in May that Moscow was manufacturing pretexts for aggression against the Baltics. Days before the latest claim, Russia shut seven rail crossings on its borders with Latvia, Estonia, and Finland without explanation, after reports it was preparing a "provocation" against the Baltic states or Poland.

Georgia's only oil refinery plans to stop processing Russian crude oil from August–September 2026, marking a significant shift away from Russian feedstock, according to an announcement by its owner, Black Sea Petroleum.

The decision to phase out Russian crude comes as countries and companies across Europe and the wider region continue to diversify energy supplies following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, although Georgia has maintained extensive trade ties with Russia throughout the war.

Georgia’s only refinery shifts away from Russian crude

The company said the Kulevi Oil Refinery will begin refining exclusively non-Russian crude oil, a move it says will allow its petroleum products to enter higher-margin export markets.

"Starting from August–September this year, the company will begin refining crude oil of entirely non-Russian origin. This will open doors to high-margin markets for products manufactured by Black Sea Petroleum," the company said in a statement.

The move is expected to broaden the refinery's export opportunities, as products refined from non-Russian crude generally face fewer commercial and regulatory barriers in international markets.

Refinery processed 650,000 tons in first half of 2026

Black Sea Petroleum said the refinery processed more than 650,000 tons of crude during the first half of 2026.

The company also announced an expanded partnership with US industrial technology firm Honeywell, covering the procurement of refinery equipment and automated control systems as part of a broader modernization program.

Aviation fuel production planned

According to the company's roadmap, the refinery plans to begin producing road bitumen in the first quarter of 2027 and aviation fuel in the second quarter of 2027.

Located in the Black Sea port town of Kulevi, the refinery has a nominal processing capacity of 4.5 million tonnes of crude oil per year. The refinery is Georgia's only oil-processing facility.

Overnight on 28 June, Ukraine struck two Russian oil refineries hundreds of kilometers apart, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. A large fire broke out at the Slavyansk plant in Krasnodar Krai, a key fuel supplier for occupied Crimea, while a second strike reached a top-five refinery near Yaroslavl, far to the north.

A "very fat target" near Crimea

The Slavyansk Oil Refinery, run by Slavyansk-EKO, sits at Slavyansk-na-Kubani, about 300 kilometers from the front. Ukraine struck it overnight, and a large fire broke out, the monitoring channel Exilenova+ reported. Locals said the storage tanks were burning, Supernova+ noted. Russia's Astra channel placed the blaze on the refinery grounds, geolocating footage shot from Shkolna Street about 1.8 kilometers away.

The refinery is one of Russia's largest independent plants, with a capacity of about 5.2 million tons of crude a year, though 2023 throughput was closer to 4.19 million. It accounts for roughly 9% of refining in Russia's Southern Federal District and holds about 74 storage tanks of varying size. Ukraine has hit it this year, most recently on 2 June, and earlier in January.

NASA's FIRMS satellite system flagged the Slavyansk fire early today local time and detected a separate possible blaze at the "Slavyanskaya" oil-stabilization and gas-treatment unit nearby, Exilenova+ reported.

A second strike near Yaroslavl

Far to the north, Ukraine reached a refinery in Yaroslavl Oblast, about 700 kilometers from the border, Zelenskyy confirmed. Monitoring channels identified it as Slavneft-YANOS, one of Russia's five largest plants, with a capacity of about 15 million tons a year, the Moscow Times reported. The plant was last struck on 22 May.

Yaroslavl's governor reported a drone threat overnight, and then a temporary closure of routes toward Moscow, and Russia's aviation regulator briefly shut the local Tunoshna airport. Officials gave no account of any damage at the plant; monitors shared only a photo of a distant smoke column above the city.

Explore further

Ukrainian missiles strike Volgograd arms plant making Iskander components

"Long-range sanctions"

Zelenskyy tied both strikes to Ukraine's wider campaign. 

"Our long-range sanctions reached two oil refineries in Russia," he wrote, marking Constitution Day. 

Each deep strike, he said, cuts the resources feeding Russia's war machine and brings another step toward peace.

The European Union renewed its economic sanctions on Russia for another 12 months, to 31 July 2027, the Council of the EU said on 25 June. The decision keeps the bloc's full economic regime against Moscow in place over the war on Ukraine. It follows the agreement EU leaders reached at their June summit.

What the renewed measures cover

The sanctions span trade, finance, energy, and dual-use technology, the Council said. They include the ban on importing or transferring Russian seaborne crude oil and certain petroleum products into the EU.

They also bar transactions with several Russian financial institutions and crypto service providers, including some based in third countries, and suspend the broadcasting licenses of several Kremlin-backed disinformation outlets in the EU. Other tools let the bloc counter attempts to circumvent the sanctions.

Explore further

Russia’s former soldiers may face a locked EU border—if France and Italy stop balking

Part of a wider sanctions push

The renewal builds on a regime that now spans 20 sanctions packages adopted since the February 2022 invasion. The bloc's leaders had agreed to the 12-month extension at the European Council on 18–19 June, when one member state's pro-Russian leader had vowed to veto the next batch.

EU leaders also called for swift adoption of a 21st sanctions package, aimed at further cutting Russia's energy revenue, curbing its shadow fleet, and constraining its banks. The renewal lands as enforcement draws scrutiny elsewhere: Washington has removed a string of Russians, ships, and firms from its own blacklist in recent months, giving no public reason.

Alongside the economic measures, the EU keeps separate restrictions on occupied Crimea, including Sevastopol, and on the Russian-occupied parts of the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, plus asset freezes and travel bans on a broad list of individuals and entities.

Two of the European Union's biggest members are slowing a plan to bar Russia's war veterans from the bloc, according to Bloomberg. Italy and France back the idea of keeping ex-soldiers out but worry the proposal could widen into a ban on all Russian citizens. Member states sit down to discuss the wider sanctions package on Friday, 26 June.

What France and Italy object to

The entry ban is one piece of a proposed 21st sanctions package against Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Rome and Paris are not against barring Moscow's former combatants, sources told Bloomberg. They fear the current wording could open the door to a blanket prohibition on Russians.

Both governments argue a targeted travel ban fits better in visa policy than in a sanctions package. They also raised a practical snag. The proposal would leave each member state to decide who has and has not fought, a determination the sources called far from simple.

The friction sits awkwardly against the travel numbers. France, Italy, and Spain drew nearly three-quarters of all Schengen visa applications filed by Russians last year, when Russians lodged more than 670,000 such requests.

The rest of the package is stuck too

The veteran ban is not the only holdup. The package also aims to freeze the EU's price cap on Russian oil, squeeze Moscow's energy income, and hit banks, crypto operators, and tankers that help Russia dodge restrictions.

Explore further

EU leaders agree to renew Russia sanctions for a full year for the first time as Bulgaria’s pro-Russian leader vows to veto the next batch

The oil cap is its own tangle. EU rules now adjust the cap every six months to sit 15% below the average price of Russian Urals crude, which has pushed the limit to $44.10 a barrel. With the Iran war lifting fuel prices, a July review could send the floating cap to at least $65, above the old $60 ceiling. Officials are weighing whether to freeze the cap where it is or reset it to $60. Maritime nations have reservations about both.

Another contested clause would extend the rules used against tankers carrying Russian oil to ships moving its liquefied natural gas. The goal is to stop Moscow building a second shadow fleet for gas, as it has done for oil. Some members want a longer transition. A handful of capitals also have concerns about limiting imports of certain Russian fish.

Explore further

Canada hits Russia with new sanctions at G7, a day after Lavra strike

The package carries other measures too: trade restrictions on some critical minerals, metals, and ores, plus export controls on about two dozen firms in China, India, Türkiye, and Central Asia accused of supplying Russia's weapons makers. It would add 30 more vessels to the shadow-fleet blacklist.

Britain is weighing whether to sell a cargo of Russian oil seized from a shadow-fleet tanker and put the proceeds toward Ukraine, the Telegraph reported. The crude was taken from the Smyrtos, a tanker Royal Marines boarded in the English Channel this month. Officials now treat the cargo as British property.

What Britain seized

Royal Marines and crime-agency officers boarded the Cameroon-flagged Smyrtos in the Channel on 14 June, the first British-led seizure of its kind. The ship, part of Russia's shadow fleet, was breaking UK sanctions law by carrying illicit oil, the Telegraph reported. It has since sat anchored off Weymouth under Britain's Defense Ministry.

Explore further

UK forces board the Russian shadow-fleet’s oil tanker in the English Channel for the first time

The Smyrtos appears on EU, UK, Swiss, Canadian, and Ukrainian sanctions lists, Ukraine's military intelligence records show.

Its captain, Ajay Pant, an Indian national, faces a charge of sanctions evasion and remains in custody before a court hearing on 16 July. His lawyers said he was "simply following orders" and had no control over the cargo or its destination.

The £35m question

Officials believe the 98,000 tons of Urals crude on board now legally belong to the UK, the report said. The oil has a market value of about £35 million or more than $46 million. One proposal would sell it and send the money to Ukraine, or use it to fund equipment for the front. A second would refine the crude in Britain to power homes, though it is unclear how it would pass from state hands to an energy firm.

Explore further

EU leaders agree to renew Russia sanctions for a full year for the first time as Bulgaria’s pro-Russian leader vows to veto the next batch

The plan is at an early stage. Whitehall sources said the Smyrtos itself would eventually be allowed to sail back toward Russia once the National Crime Agency finishes its investigation.

A fleet Britain keeps chasing

The seizure fits a widening Western campaign against the shadow fleet, the network of aging tankers Moscow uses to move oil past sanctions and bankroll its war on Ukraine. The fleet runs more than 1,000 vessels, flying flags of convenience to dodge UK, US, and EU restrictions, and Russia's illicit oil trade moves around 3.7 million barrels a day. Britain authorized its navy to board sanctioned tankers in its waters in March. Government sources said the Smyrtos raid was "just the beginning."

Explore further

A ship linked to stolen grain from occupied Ukraine was seized in Sweden. A court says Kyiv can have it.

A warship in the Channel

Some tankers are harder to touch. A Russian Black Sea frigate, the Admiral Grigorovich, has escorted shadow-fleet ships through the Channel, the Telegraph revealed in April. The same warship fired warning shots at a British couple's yacht earlier this month.

Where Western law stops, drones start

Kyiv has not waited for Western navies. Ukraine has pounded the fleet itself and Russia's oil infrastructure with what it calls kinetic sanctions—drone strikes that reach the tankers, oil depots and refineries, where Western legal frameworks cannot. Sea drones struck the sanctioned tanker FINA A in the Black Sea in mid-June, one of a run of hits stretching from the Mediterranean to the Senegal coast. The attacks have tripled war-risk insurance on the ships and pushed at least one shipping firm to walk away from Russian business. Meanwhile, Russian oil depots and refineries now take hits every few days.

Ukrainian long-range drones struck oil refineries in the Russian city of Ufa on 25 June, hitting two of the three plants in one of Russia's largest petrochemical hubs, the Ukrainian Telegram channel Exilenova+ reported. The drones flew more than 1,300 kilometers from Ukraine to reach Bashkortostan, deep in Russia's rear. Russia's regional head claimed air defenses downed the drones and that only debris fell.

Drones over the city, smoke by afternoon

Local residents filmed the moments of the strikes and the drones passing overhead, footage Exilenova+ published. The video showed aircraft resembling Ukraine's long-range Liutyi drone, Militarnyi noted. Two of the three refineries clustered in Ufa were hit, by available accounts.

Ufa's three Bashneft plants—Bashneft-Ufaneftekhim, Bashneft-Novoil, and Bashneft-UNPZ—sit almost wall to wall in the city's northern industrial zone, all controlled by the Russian oil company Rosneft.

Russia's "debris" account

The OSINT analysis by the Russian Telegram channel Astra confirmed that two refineries took damage—Bashneft-Ufaneftekhim and, it said, probably Bashneft-UNPZ. Bashkortostan's head, Radiy Khabirov, confirmed an attack but claimed it was "repelled," with drone debris falling in the industrial zone, no one hurt, and the plants running normally.

Astra noted that mobile-internet limits were imposed in the region during the drone alert. The "debris" explanation is Russia's standard line after successful strikes on its energy sites, attributing fires to falling wreckage rather than direct hits.

Explore further

A depot supplying two Russian regions with fuel is burning after an overnight drone strike

In mid-June, Khabirov had said the region was forming nearly a hundred mobile fire-groups to defend it. 

A Ukrainian commander of the Army's drone branch has put an official tally on the overnight assault that monitoring channels flagged across occupied Crimea earlier on 23 June. Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces (SBS) said the strikes ran through air defenses, fuel sites, and three costly Russian drones on the ground. The count topped 60 targets.

"Moscow will go down in Crimea"

SBS commander Robert "Madyar" Brovdi said: 

"Moscow will go down in Crimea. The SBS 'birds' will keep doing their part," he wrote. 

He called the overnight assault a "fiery" night in the occupied peninsula. The strikes reached deep into Russian-held territory.

Air defenses, fuel, and drones on the list

The targets spanned occupied Crimea and the southern front. Brovdi counted four air-defense systems among them. SBS hit a Pantsir-S1 system, a Russian short-range air-defense vehicle, near Baherove. It struck an S-300 launcher, part of a long-range missile system, and an anti-aircraft gun at Kurortne. Drones also hit a Nebo-U radar at Kerch. 

The commander confirmed the strikes on the Kerch oil depot, a gas-distribution station, and an electrical substation.

Explore further

The fuel blockade tightens: Kerch struck again, power knocked out across occupied Crimea

Three Orion drones caught near Kerch

SBS destroyed three Russian Orion drones near Kerch, Brovdi said. The Orion is a reconnaissance-strike aircraft that carries guided bombs and small cruise missiles. 

Footage confirmed one drone fully destroyed, likely as crews prepared it to fly, Militarnyi noted. The other two sat under camouflage nets. That left it unclear whether they were real Orions or full-size decoys. Russia increasingly fields such decoys to waste Ukrainian strike drones.

Convoys and fuel across the occupied territories

SBS units also hit multiple Russian supply and fuel trucks.

Strikes reached a fuel rail tanker in occupied Horlivka in Donetsk Oblast.

They hit supply transport at Pryazovske in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. More convoys went down across Crimea and four occupied oblasts. A Russian drone-pilot training ground near Debaltseve was also hit.

Part of a wider assault

The drone strikes reported by Brovdi formed part of a broader overnight attack on Crimea, setting a Kerch power plant ablaze and blacking out much of the peninsula. In the same push, the military intelligence hunted down the Russian supply trucks trying to enter Crimea from the north, while Ukraine's special forces also destroyed a railway bridge over the North Crimean Canal.

Explore further

Russia sent a repair team to fix a bombed rail bridge in Crimea—Ukraine’s drones were waiting

Squeezing the crossings

Ukraine has battered the northern bridges to Crimea through June. It hit four bridges near the entrance on 11 June. It struck the Chonhar road bridge and rail bridge, then the bridges at Chonhar and Armiansk on 15 and 20 June. On 20 June, the drone force also struck Crimea's gas infrastructure.

The leaders of the EU's member states have agreed to keep their sanctions on Russia in place for a full year rather than the usual six months, according to Reuters and Euronews. The decision, taken at a Brussels summit on 18 June, marks the first time the bloc has stretched the rollover that long. Yet a pro-Russian Bulgarian PM is already threatening to block the EU's next round of measures.

A year instead of six months

The bloc's national leaders renewed the economic sanctions for 12 months at the Brussels summit on 18 June. The measures hit certain sectors of the Russian economy and had always been rolled over every six months. That short cycle handed any single member a regular chance to bargain or threaten a veto. The rollover is the first stretched to a full year. The 27 leaders also backed joint conclusions on Ukraine, the first such agreement since March 2025, when Hungary balked.

Bulgaria threatens the next package

Bulgaria's prime minister, Rumen Radev, vowed to veto the EU's next sanctions package on Russia. He said it could hurt Bulgaria's economy and pointed to the risk to Lukoil, the Russian oil company that runs the country's only refinery at Burgas. Radev wants Lukoil struck from the list. He also cited possible disruptions to Sofia Metro spare parts and fertilizer supplies. Reuters describes him as a pro-Russian eurosceptic who won April's parliamentary election.

Explore further

Bulgaria’s defense minister banned weapons to Ukraine. It’s not that simple

Objection over a Russian bishop

Radev also opposes sanctions on a bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church. He argued the war should not reach into religion after spreading to culture and sports. 

"In what way have these sanctions so far stopped the war?" he asked.

Still, Radev said Bulgaria would not block the EU's broader decisions on Ukraine and backs its accession talks.

The packages behind the threat

The next round, the EU's 21st package, would bar Russian soldiers from the bloc and add 30 more tankers to its shadow-fleet blacklist, alongside new curbs on Russian banks and the defense industry. The EU has imposed 20 packages since it first sanctioned Russia in 2014 over Crimea, with the twentieth lifting the tanker list to 632 ships. Brussels gained room for the new measures after Hungary's government unblocked steps its predecessor had stalled. Days earlier, on 15 June, the EU expanded its list with 34 individuals and 47 entities.

Russia's crude oil shipments have dropped to their lowest level since February, as refinery processing outpaces production growth and trims available export volumes, Bloomberg reported on July 8.

Russia has used its revenues from energy exports to finance the war in Ukraine.

Seaborne crude flows averaged 3.12 million barrels a day over the four weeks to July 6, a 3% decline from the previous period ending June 29, according to tanker-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. That's the lowest level recorded since the four-week period ending Feb. 23.

The gross value of Moscow's oil exports rose by about $100 million, or 8%, to $1.36 billion for the week ending July 6, Bloomberg said. That increase was due to higher volume, although average export prices declined for a second consecutive week.

Most of Russia's oil continues to head to Asia. Shipments to the region averaged 2.73 million barrels per day, slightly lower than the previous month. Flows to Turkey fell to 370,000 barrels a day, and shipments to Syria held steady at 25,000 barrels a day.

The European Union is seeking to tighten sanctions on Russia. Ambassadors have yet to approve the EU's 18th sanctions package due to opposition from Hungary and Slovakia. The bloc failed to adopt the new package on June 27.

The new package includes restrictions targeting Russia's energy and banking sectors, as well as transactions linked to the Nord Stream gas pipeline.

Death of top Russian oil executive fuels fresh scrutiny of elite’s ‘window falls’

The unexplained death of a top Russian oil executive on July 4 is fueling renewed scrutiny over the rising number of high-profile Russian officials and businessmen who have died under mysterious circumstances, specifically, have fallen out of windows. Andrei Badalov, vice president of Transneft, Russia’s largest state-controlled pipeline transport company,

The Kyiv IndependentTim Zadorozhnyy

Russia's crude oil production in June fell below its agreed-upon OPEC+ target, according to individuals familiar with the data interviwed by Bloomberg.

Russian producers reportedly pumped 9.022 million barrels per day last month, a figure 28,000 barrels per day below the required level, including compensation cuts. This marks the largest gap between Russia's output and its monthly quota this year, based on Bloomberg's calculations.

Historically, Russia, which co-leads the OPEC+ alliance with Saudi Arabia, has faced criticism for poor compliance with production quotas. However, the nation has shown improved adherence for most of 2025, often pumping below its required levels, according to analysis of Russian data. This increased focus on production discipline follows earlier critiques from Riyadh.

Under the terms of the OPEC+ agreement, Russia's daily production quota for June had increased by 78,000 barrels to 9.161 million barrels. However, Moscow had also committed to a 111,000 barrel-a-day compensation cut for the month, bringing its actual output target to 9.050 million barrels per day.

On July 5, eight OPEC+ nations collectively agreed to raise production by 548,000 barrels per day in August, aiming to capitalize on strong summer consumption. Analysts suggest these additional barrels may be quickly absorbed but could contribute to a crude surplus later in the year.

Independent verification of Russia's oil output data has become challenging since Moscow classified official figures after Western sanctions targeting the nation's energy industry following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Consequently, market watchers now largely rely on indicators such as seaborne exports and domestic refinery runs to track trends in Russia's oil production.

Russia striking NATO while China invades Taiwan ‘plausible’ scenario, experts say

If Beijing moves against Taiwan, NATO might soon find itself in a two-front war with China and Russia — or so the alliance’s secretary general believes. “If Xi Jinping would attack Taiwan, he would first make sure that he makes a call to his very junior partner in all of this, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin… and telling him, ‘Hey, I’m going to do this, and I need you to to keep them busy in Europe by attacking NATO territory,’” Secretary General Mark Rutte said in a July 5 interview with the New

The Kyiv IndependentMartin Fornusek

Russia's economy, which defied initial sanctions and saw growth propelled by massive military spending and robust oil exports, is now showing significant signs of a downturn.

Recent economic indicators are flashing red, with manufacturing activity declining, consumer spending tightening, and inflation remaining stubbornly high, straining the national budget, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on July 4.

Russian officials are openly acknowledging the risks of a recession. Economy Minister Maxim Reshetnikov warned last month that Russia was on the "verge of a recession," while Finance Minister Anton Siluanov described the situation as a "perfect storm." Companies, from agricultural machinery producers to furniture makers, are reducing output. The central bank announced on July 3 it would debate cutting its benchmark interest rate later this month, following a reduction in June.

While analysts suggest this economic sputtering is unlikely to immediately alter President Vladimir Putin’s war objectives—as his focus on "neutering Ukraine" overrides broader economic concerns—it exposes the limits of his war economy.

The slowdown indicates that Western sanctions, though not a knockout blow, are increasingly taking a toll. If sanctions intensify further or global oil prices fall, Russia’s economy could face more severe instability. This downturn undermines Putin's strategic bet that Russia can financially outlast Ukraine and its Western allies, suggesting Moscow may struggle to finance the war indefinitely.

Death of top Russian oil executive fuels fresh scrutiny of elite’s ‘window falls’

The unexplained death of a top Russian oil executive on July 4 is fueling renewed scrutiny over the rising number of high-profile Russian officials and businessmen who have died under mysterious circumstances, specifically, have fallen out of windows. Andrei Badalov, vice president of Transneft, Russia’s largest state-controlled pipeline transport company,

The Kyiv IndependentTim Zadorozhnyy

Experts warn that Russia's economic growth model, overly reliant on military spending, is unsustainable and necessitates a contraction of civilian economic capacities to free up workers for the war machine, which is not a viable long-term strategy. Putin recently dismissed suggestions that the war is stifling the economy, echoing Mark Twain by stating reports of its death "are greatly exaggerated." However, he also cautioned that a recession or stagflation "should not be allowed under any circumstances."

After a brief recession in 2022, military spending, which accounts for over 6% of gross domestic product this year (the highest since Soviet times) and approximately 40% of total government spending, had propped up Russia’s economy and blunted the impact of Western sanctions. Russia’s ability to reroute oil exports to China and Beijing’s support with electronics and machinery provided additional economic stimulus. This created an economic paradox: the most sanctioned major economy was, for a period, growing faster than many advanced economies.

However, this military spending "sugar rush" fueled runaway inflation, compelling the central bank to raise interest rates to a record 21% to try and tame it. Higher interest rates increased borrowing costs for businesses, curbing investment, expansion plans, and squeezing profits. The economic comedown has already begun.

Official data shows Russian GDP growth slowed to 1.4% in the first quarter compared to a year earlier, down significantly from 4.5% in the fourth quarter of 2024. S&P Global’s purchasing managers’ index indicated Russia’s manufacturing sector contracted at its sharpest rate in over three years in June, and new car sales dropped nearly 30% year-over-year in June.

Businesses across Russia are feeling the effects, according to the WSJ. Rostselmash, the country’s largest producer of agricultural machinery, announced in May it would cut production and investment, and pull forward mandatory annual leave for its 15,000 employees due to a lack of demand. In Siberia, electricity grid operator Rosseti Sibir stated it was on the verge of bankruptcy due to high debt, halting investments and proposing tariff hikes for industrial users.

While some analysts argue the Russian banking system remains stable, others warn of increasing instability. A recent report by the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) highlighted risks from a government decision to control war-related lending at major Russian banks. The state could direct banks to offer preferential loans, potentially forcing the government to absorb losses if high interest rates prevent companies from meeting obligations.

The Moscow-based Center for Macroeconomic Analysis and Short-Term Forecasting also assessed in May that the risk of a protracted systemic banking crisis in 2026 was "moderate" and growing.

These economic challenges intensify pressure on the Kremlin by reducing its financial capacity to fund its war in Ukraine. The government has operated with a budget deficit throughout the war and projects this will continue for at least two more years. This fiscal strain could provide an opening for Western nations to implement more powerful sanctions.

Falling oil prices present another significant risk for Russia, as energy sales account for about a third of its budget revenues. The price of Russian crude has consistently remained below the level assumed in this year’s budget, and Russia’s oil-and-gas revenue in June fell to its lowest level since January 2023, according to Finance Ministry data.

Trump says Putin ‘wants to keep killing people,’ signals US may send Patriots to Ukraine

“It just seems like he wants to go all the way and just keep killing people. It’s not good,” U.S. President Donald Trump said.

The Kyiv IndependentTim Zadorozhnyy

Iran is reportedly preparing to mine the Strait of Hormuz, a move that would spike global oil prices and give a significant boost to the Russian economy and its war machine in Ukraine.

Reuters reported on July 1 that Iran loaded naval mines onto vessels in the Persian Gulf last month, citing two U.S. officials, who said the preparations had been detected after Israel launched its "preemptive" attack against Iran on June 13.

Amid the conflict with Israel which has currently settled into an uneasy ceasefire, Iran has repeatedly threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz as a means of deterrence.

If the Strait were mined, Iran could block one-fifth of global oil demand and spike world energy prices — a boon for Russia's oil-dependent economy.

"Any disruption to Gulf supplies would push up global crude prices. Prices for Russian crude would rise in line," John Gawthrop, Argus Eurasia Energy editor, told the Kyiv Independent.

Russia’s energy sector made up 35-40% of its budget revenues pre-full-scale invasion and is powering its war machine.

Western sanctions on Russian energy and the G7’s Russian oil price cap of $60 per barrel have hampered its profits, with Russia losing more than $150 billion over the last three years, but have yet to deal a crippling blow.

The conflict between Israel and Iran caused a spike in prices — Brent crude, the global benchmark, on June 13 jumped from $69.36 to $75 per barrel, a surge that looked like it could grant Russia's economy a reprieve.

Until the Israeli attacks, the future for Russian crude wasn’t looking so bright. Europe was planning its 18th sanctions package targeting Russia's energy sector, and the G7 was pushing for a $45 price cap. Hungary and Slovakia have since blocked the sanctions package.

Prices have since settled along with the conflict and on July 2 Brent crude was $67.50, but if Iran does go ahead with mining the Strait of Hormuz, blocking one-fifth of global oil demand, another surge would follow.

This would also mean Iran blocks its own oil exports too, so it would only be a last resort from Tehran, David Fyfe, chief economist at Argus Media, a market analyst group, told the Kyiv Independent last month.

Arrests, raids, beaten and bloodied suspects — how Russia-Azerbaijan relations have unravelled

Deaths in custody, media offices raided, and beaten and bloodied suspects paraded in court — relations between Russia and Azerbaijan, once considered close, have sharply deteriorated in recent days amid a series of high-profile incidents. The latest tensions erupted over the weekend when Russian law enforcement officers detained over 50 Azerbaijani

The Kyiv IndependentTim Zadorozhnyy

Ukrainian drones struck the Saratovorgsintez oil refinery in Russia's Saratov Oblast, causing damage to the facility, Ukraine's General Staff reported on July 1.

"An important facility has been hit," the General Staff said via its official Telegram channel.

The Saratovorgsintez refinery and chemical plant, owned by Russian energy giant Lukoil, is located nearly 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) from Ukraine's border in the city of Saratov. The city hosts multiple strategic military and industrial sites.

The refinery was targeted to "reduce the enemy's offensive capabilities," the General Staff wrote.

"The occupiers use the capacity of this refinery to supply fuel and lubricants to Russian military units involved in the armed aggression against Ukraine."

The attack was a joint operation carried out by Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) and other military units, the General Staff said. A fire broke out at the site of the attack and damage to the refinery's technological installations has been confirmed. The full consequences of the strike are still being investigated.

The Kyiv Independent could not verify these claims.

The report is the latest in a series of announcements on July 1 about successful Ukrainian strikes on Russian targets. Earlier in the day, HUR released footage of Ukraine's UJ-26 drones, commonly known as Bober (Beavers), targeting high-value Russian air defenses and a fighter jet in occupied Crimea.

A source in the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) told the Kyiv Independent that Ukrainian drones struck a major Russian military plant in the city of Izhevsk, over 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) from the front lines.

Ukraine also hit a Russian command post in occupied Donetsk Oblast, according to the General Staff.

Ukraine war latest: Ukrainian drones strike Russian plant 1,300km from border, SBU source says

Key developments on July 1: * ‘With surgical precision’ — Ukrainian drones strike Russian plant 1,300km away, SBU source says * Russian missile strike on Dnipropetrovsk Oblast kills brigade commander, injures 30 people, Zelensky says * Ukrainian forces hit Russian command post in occupied Donetsk Oblast, General Staff says * Zelensky signs ratification of

The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk

Editor's note: The article was updated with a statement from Ukraine's military intelligence agency.

A tanker carrying 1 million barrels of oil experienced an explosion near Libya, its operator, TMS Tankers, said on June 30. The vessel, Vilamoura, is now being towed to Greece, where the extent of the damage will be assessed upon arrival.

The blast caused the engine room to flood due to water intake, though the cause of the explosion remains unclear, according to a company spokesperson.

The spokesperson confirmed that the crew is safe and no pollution has been reported.

The explosion occurred on June 27 as the vessel was departing the Libyan port of Zuwetina, some 150 kilometers (90 miles) northeast of Libyan territorial waters, Ukraine's military intelligence reported.

The incident comes amid a series of unexplained blasts targeting oil tankers that had previously visited Russian ports. In response, shipowners have started inspecting their vessels for mines using divers and underwater drones.

Vilamoura had visited Russian oil terminals twice since April, loading Kazakh-origin crude rather than Russian oil. According to Bloomberg vessel-tracking data, the tanker called at the Russian port of Ust-Luga in early April and at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal near Novorossiysk in May. Both terminals primarily handle Kazakh crude exports.

Maritime risk consultancy Vanguard Tech reported that four other vessels have been damaged by explosions since the beginning of the year. Each had recently docked at Russian ports, the firm said.

Ukraine has targeted Russian energy assets throughout the full-scale invasion, including a drone strike in February on the CPC pipeline, a route responsible for moving roughly 80% of Kazakhstan’s oil exports.

Russia-Iran alliance wavers as Tehran suffers major blows

Tehran, Russia’s main ally in the Middle East, has been dealt a heavy blow as Israel dismantled its network of proxies and then struck targets in Iran. The recent Iranian-Israeli war, which ended with a ceasefire on June 24, showed that the regional balance of power has shifted in Israel’s favor. This could have a major impact on Russian-Iranian relations as Moscow will have to recalibrate its approach to the region. Russian-Iranian cooperation is likely to continue but Iran’s ability to help

The Kyiv IndependentOleg Sukhov

Around 50% of Americans support sanctions against countries that purchase Russian oil and gas, according to the results of a YouGov poll published on June 27.

A bipartisan sanctions bill in the U.S. Senate aims to slap 500% tariffs on imports from countries that continue to purchase Russian energy products. U.S. President Donald Trump has not backed the measure and a vote on the bill has reportedly been postponed.

In a YouGov survey of adult U.S. citizens conducted June 12-16, 24% said they "strongly support" sanctioning Russian energy buyers while 25% said they "somewhat support" secondary sanctions against these countries.

Like the Senate bill, support for secondary sanctions among respondents was bipartisan. Of "strong supporters," 26% indentified as Democrats while 27% were Republicans.

More Republicans than Democrats said they favored the specific 500% tariff penalty proposed by legislators. While 29% of respondents who "strongly supported" the measure were Democrats, 41% were Republicans. Only 32% of survey respondents overall said they supported the 500% tariff.

The 500% tariff has been championed by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally and co-author of the sanctions bill alongside Democrat Richard Blumenthal. Along with tariffs on countries purchasing Russian oil, the bill would also slap "bone-crushing" new sanctions against Russia, according to Graham.

A majority of Americans support increasing or maintaining U.S. sanctions against Russia, the survey found. Here the division along party lines is stark, with 59% of those in favor of increasing sanctions on Moscow identifying as Democrats and only 37% identifying as Republicans.

The poll also showed that about 50% of Americans oppose cutting military aid to Ukraine. According to YouGov, 26% of U.S. adults are in favor of increasing military aid while 23% believe Washington should maintain its current levels of support.

The results illustrate the contrast between the prevailing views of the American public and the policies of the Trump administration. Trump has repeatedly undercut the Senate sanctions bill, requesting delays to the vote and calling on lawmakers to weaken the proposed measures.

While Trump has at times threatened to impose new sanctions on Russia, he has never followed through on any of those threats and consistently shoots down domestic and international appeals to get tough on Moscow. At the recent G7 Summit in Canada, Trump reportedly insisted that sanctions would be at odds with U.S. business interests.  

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also announced earlier this month that Washington will cut military aid to Ukraine in its upcoming defense budget.

‘Putin cannot stop’ – Estonian foreign minister says war in Ukraine existential for Russian president

As Russia continues to intensify its onslaught on Ukraine more than three years into the full-scale invasion, Kyiv faces a new challenge – keeping its Western allies, namely the new U.S. administration, engaged in the struggle. This became clear during the NATO summit in The Hague on June 24-25, where

The Kyiv IndependentMartin Fornusek

Ukraine's Armed Forces struck the Atlas oil depot in Russia's Rostov Oblast overnight on June 23, the General Staff reported.

The attack ignited a fire at the site, with Ukrainian forces saying the strike had reached its intended target. The facility supplies fuel and lubricants to Russian military units.

Yuri Slyusar, the acting governor of Rostov Oblast, confirmed that a fire occurred at an industrial facility after the attack. He added that no one was injured.

The full extent of the damage is still being assessed, according to the military.

Located near the Azov Sea and bordering Ukraine, Rostov Oblast plays a crucial logistical role for Russia's war effort due to its proximity to front-line operations. The same depot was previously targeted in November 2024.

"The defense forces continue to take all measures to undermine the military and economic potential of the Russian occupiers and force the Russian Federation to stop its armed aggression against Ukraine," the General Staff said.

The strike is part of Ukraine's broader campaign aimed at disrupting Russian supply chains and degrading its capacity to sustain the full-scale invasion.

Fuel depots, rail infrastructure, and ammunition stockpiles inside Russia and occupied territories have increasingly become targets for long-range drone and missile strikes.

Explained: How Ukraine and Russia swap prisoners of war

Even after Ukraine cut diplomatic ties with Russia in 2022, prisoner exchanges have continued as one of the few remaining channels of communication between the two countries. Negotiated behind closed doors and carried out irregularly, POW swaps — and the decisions surrounding them — have long been shrouded in secrecy. Controversies have

The Kyiv IndependentDaria Shulzhenko

U.S. President Donald Trump on June 23 called for urgent measures to prevent rising oil prices amid escalating tensions with Iran.

"Everyone, keep oil prices down. I'm watching," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "To the Department of Energy: Drill, baby, drill! And I mean now."

The post comes after global oil prices surged on June 13 following a series of Israeli air strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. The escalation sparked fears of broader conflict in the energy-rich Middle East, home to critical oil shipping routes.

The surge in oil prices risks undermining Western attempts to curb Russia's war funding, as the Kremlin relies heavily on oil revenues to sustain its invasion of Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that a price surge could further embolden the Kremlin.

On June 21, the U.S. joined Israel in conducting airstrikes that targeted three nuclear facilities in Iran — Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. The operation triggered a strong response from Tehran, which threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil transit route.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance responded on June 22 that any Iranian attempt to shut the strategic waterway would "destroy their own economy." The strait is a vital chokepoint for global energy supplies, with nearly a fifth of the world's oil passing through it daily.

Amid the turmoil, the EU has reportedly postponed plans to tighten the $60-per-barrel price cap on Russian crude, originally imposed in December 2022. The mechanism restricts Western firms from shipping or insuring Russian oil sold above that threshold.

The Russian Finance Ministry has relied heavily on energy revenues to sustain defense spending, which hit record highs this year.

Ukraine has evidence Russia prepares military operations in Europe, Zelensky says

“We are observing a continued intellectual decline within the Russian leadership and have evidence that they are preparing new military operations on European territory,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

The Kyiv IndependentNatalia Yermak

Ukrainian strikes deep inside Russian territory between January and May have cost Russia over $10 billion, including $1.3 billion in direct damage to industrial facilities and infrastructure, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi told journalists on June 21.

The indirect damage caused by the disruption of Russian industrial activities is estimated at $9.5 billion, putting the cost-to-result ratio of Ukrainian deep strikes at 1:15, Syrskyi said at a briefing attended by the Kyiv Independent.

Kyiv has ramped up drone attacks against Russian military and industrial sites far behind the border as part of its DeepStrike strategy, seeking to undermine Moscow's ability to wage war.

The attacks targeted Russia's oil refining sector, the fuel and lubricants facilities, energy and transport support, and strategic lines of communication.

"Remember that during negotiations, the Russian side listed a halt to strikes against the oil refining industry as one of the conditions. This shows that our strikes are truly effective," Syrskyi said.

Oil and gas exports are among Russia's key revenue sources and play a crucial role in sustaining its war effort.

"Of course, we will continue (attacking deep inside Russian territory). We will increase the scale and the depth," the commander added, stressing that the attacks target solely military facilities.

Ukraine has increased the production of long-range drones with the support of Western partners and developed new tactics in striking Russia behind the lines.

In one of the most audacious attacks, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) on June 1 struck dozens of Russian bombers and other aircraft across four different air bases in an operation dubbed Spiderweb. SBU drones were smuggled to Russia in trucks and then deployed to attack airfields thousands of kilometers from the Russia-Ukraine border.

Russia ‘afraid to admit’ scale of losses, trying to hide by dumping soldiers’ bodies on Ukraine, Zelensky says

Ukrainian authorities have confirmed that at least 20 of the bodies Russia returned as Ukrainian were actually Russian soldiers, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

The Kyiv IndependentTim Zadorozhnyy

The European Union has postponed a move to lower the existing price cap on Russian oil, after concerns that the Iran-Israel conflict could lead to higher prices, Politico reported on June 20, citing unnamed diplomatic sources.

The price cap, introduced in December 2022 as a measure to limit the Kremlin's ability to finance its war against Ukraine, prohibits Western companies from shipping, insuring, or otherwise servicing Russian oil sold above $60 per barrel.

Ukraine has been calling on Western partners to lower the price cap on Russian oil from $60 to $30 per barrel. Meanwhile, two diplomats told Politico that the escalation of the conflict between Iran and Israel would make it impossible to impose new restrictions.

"The idea of lowering the price cap is probably not going to fly because of the international situation in the Middle East and the volatility," said one diplomat on the condition of anonymity.

The issue of reducing the price cap on Russian oil was discussed during the Group of Seven (G7) summit, which was held June 15-17 in Canada. However, the participants failed to reach a consensus.

"At the G7 meeting this week, it was agreed by all the countries they would prefer not to take the decision right now," the diplomat added. "The prices were quite close to the cap; but now the prices are going up and down, the situation is too volatile for the moment."

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said during the G7 summit that the existing measures on Russian oil exports "had little effect," while noting that oil prices had risen in recent days, so "the cap in place does serve its function. "

Global oil prices spiked on June 13, after Israeli strikes on Iran triggered a long-range war between the two countries that has continued for over a week.

Brent and Nymex crude prices surged more than 10% before stabilizing around 7.5% higher, with Brent at $74.50 a barrel and Nymex at $73.20 as of June 20, the BBC reported.

The spike threatens to undermine Western efforts to restrict the wartime revenue of the Russian state, which depend heavily on oil exports.

EU High Representative Kaja Kallas previously urged the European Union to pursue lowering the oil price cap on Russian oil, even without U.S. support, warning that Middle East tensions could otherwise drive prices up and boost Russia's revenues.

After 3 years of full-scale war in Ukraine, Europe finally lays out road map to detox from Russian oil and gas

After three years of limited measures and political hangovers, the European Union has laid out a legal roadmap to finally end its long-standing addiction to Russian oil and gas. Under a new legislative proposal announced in Strasbourg on June 17, Brussels aims to cut off all remaining imports of Russian

The Kyiv IndependentAlex Cadier

Australia has, for the first time, imposed sanctions on Russia's so-called "shadow fleet" of oil tankers, targeting 60 vessels used to circumvent international sanctions and sustain the Kremlin's war effort in Ukraine, the Australian government said on June 18.

The move aligns Canberra with similar measures introduced by the United Kingdom, Canada, and the European Union.

Australia's Foreign Ministry said the sanctioned vessels operate under "deceptive practices, including flag-hopping, disabling tracking systems and operating with inadequate insurance," enabling illicit Russian oil trade that undermines international sanctions.

"Russia uses these vessels to circumvent international sanctions and sustain its illegal and immoral war against Ukraine," the ministry said in a statement.

With this move, Australia has now sanctioned more than 1,400 Russian individuals and entities since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, the government said.

The step comes amid the continued operation of Russia's shadow fleet. According to a recent study by the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE), Russia currently operates 435 tankers outside the control of Western regulators to evade sanctions such as the G7-EU price cap on Russian oil.

These vessels are typically un- or underinsured and pose a rising environmental risk due to their age and operational opacity.

KSE estimates that as of April 2024, 83% of Russia's crude oil and 46% of its petroleum product exports were shipped using shadow fleet tankers. The study warns that this undermines the effectiveness of Western sanctions and increases the likelihood of maritime disasters, as many of these ships fall outside international safety and insurance standards.

The EU formally adopted its 17th sanctions package against Russia in May, sanctioning nearly 200 vessels tied to the shadow fleet. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the new measures also target hybrid threats and human rights violations, with more sanctions under consideration.

Some EU member states and observers have criticized the package for lacking stronger provisions to disrupt Russia's sanction evasion schemes.

Now, the EU seeks to approve its 18th sanctions package, which will add 77 more shadow fleet vessels to comply with the cap to prevent Russia from circumventing sanctions and propose imposing a ban on imports of petroleum products made from Russian oil.

The United States has signaled reluctance to pursue additional sanctions despite Moscow's continued aggression in Ukraine and rejection of ceasefire proposals supported by Western allies.

Putin ‘cannot be trusted’ as mediator, Kallas says, urges EU to tighten Russian oil cap after deadly Kyiv strike

EU High Representative Kaja Kallas urged the European Union to press forward with lowering the oil price cap on Russian crude, even without U.S. support, warning that Middle East tensions could otherwise drive prices up and boost Russia’s revenues.

The Kyiv IndependentAnna Fratsyvir

Russian President Vladimir Putin "cannot be trusted" to mediate peace in the Middle East while continuing to launch brutal attacks against civilians, EU High Representative Kaja Kallas said on June 17, following a mass Russian strike on Kyiv that killed at least 21 people and injured over 130.

"Clearly, President Putin is not somebody who can talk about peace while we see actions like this,” Kallas said during a briefing in Brussels. "He's not a mediator that can really be considered. Russia cannot be a mediator if they don't really believe in peace."

Russia has sought to position itself as a potential mediator in the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on June 17 that Israel appeared unwilling to accept Russia’s offer of mediation.

President Donald Trump said on June 15 that Putin had expressed willingness to help mediate between Tel Aviv and Tehran — an idea already dismissed by France. EU leaders have also questioned Moscow’s neutrality given its deep military ties with Iran, which has supplied Russia with drones and missiles used in attacks on Ukraine.

Kallas also pointed to Iran's role in enabling Russia's attacks. "Iran has helped Russia do these attacks… their cooperation is working in this regard," she said.

Kallas urged the European Union to press forward with lowering the oil price cap on Russian oil, even without U.S. support, warning that Middle East tensions could otherwise drive prices up and boost Russia's revenues.

"The whole idea of the oil price cap is to lower the prices," Kallas said. "We shouldn't end up in a situation where the crisis in the Middle East increases oil prices and makes Russia earn more… that would mean they can fund their war machine on a bigger scale."

Her warning comes after global oil prices soared on June 13, following an Israeli strike on Iran that raised fears of a broader regional conflict. Brent and Nymex crude prices surged more than 10% before stabilizing around 7.5% higher, with Brent at $74.50 a barrel and Nymex at $73.20, the BBC reported.

The spike threatens to undermine Western efforts to restrict Russia’s wartime revenues, which heavily depend on oil exports.

Earlier, Kallas said the EU can act independently to lower the oil price ceiling, noting that most Russian crude flows through European-controlled waters.

"Even if the Americans are not on board, we can still do it and have an impact," she said.

Her remarks come as the EU works on its 18th sanctions package targeting Russia's energy, banking, and defense sectors. The 17th package entered into force on May 20. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said new measures will further target Russia's war-sustaining supply chains.

Kallas spoke hours after one of Russia's deadliest attacks on Kyiv since the start of its full-scale invasion. The nearly nine-hour assault saw Moscow fire 472 aerial weapons, including over 280 Shahed drones and multiple cruise and ballistic missiles.

Ukraine's Air Force reported intercepting 428 targets, but several missiles hit residential buildings, including a nine-story apartment block in Solomianskyi district, where 16 people were killed.

President Volodymyr Zelensky called the assault "one of the most horrifying attacks on Kyiv" and again called on Western leaders to act decisively.

After 3 years of full-scale war in Ukraine, Europe finally lays out road map to detox from Russian oil and gas

After three years of limited measures and political hangovers, the European Union has laid out a legal roadmap to finally end its long-standing addiction to Russian oil and gas. Under a new legislative proposal announced in Strasbourg on June 17, Brussels aims to cut off all remaining imports of Russian

The Kyiv IndependentAlex Cadier

An uninsured Russian Aframax-class tanker has been illegally conducting ship-to-ship oil transfers in international waters near Greece and Cyprus since July 2024, Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) reported on June 16.

According to the agency, the vessel, operating without Western insurance, is part of Russia's expanding shadow fleet used to bypass G7 and EU sanctions on Russian oil exports.

HUR said such transfers "pose an environmental threat, allow the aggressor to conceal the origin of oil, evade international control, and ensure its supply to third countries in circumvention of sanctions."

Ukraine has identified the tanker as IMO 9247443 and listed it on the War&Sanctions platform, along with 159 other tankers allegedly belonging to Russia's shadow fleet and 55 captains involved in sanction-busting operations.

Despite price caps and Western restrictions, Russia continues to profit from oil and gas exports, which remain a vital revenue source. According to HUR estimates, roughly one-third of those profits are expected to fund Russia's war against Ukraine in 2025.

In May, the EU approved its 17th sanctions package, targeting nearly 200 shadow fleet vessels. The U.S. Treasury had earlier sanctioned over 180 tankers, which together accounted for nearly half of Russia's offshore oil shipments.

While the Biden administration ramped up pressure on Russia's oil trade early in 2024, U.S. President Donald Trump has since declined to impose new sanctions, despite Moscow's continued refusal to agree to a ceasefire.

EU leaders call for tougher sanctions on Russia at G7 summit

“To achieve peaceful strength we must put more pressure on Russia to secure a real ceasefire, to bring Russia to the negotiating table, and to end this war. Sanctions are critical to that end,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

The Kyiv IndependentAbbey Fenbert

The United States is opposing a proposal by other Group of Seven nations to lower the price cap on Russian oil, Bloomberg reported on June 13.

Citing unnamed sources, Bloomberg said the U.S. remains opposed to reducing the cap from $60 to $45 per barrel – a position it first took earlier this year when Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent declined to support a similar effort.

The price cap, introduced in December 2022 as a measure to limit the Kremlin's ability to finance its war against Ukraine, prohibits Western companies from shipping, insuring, or otherwise servicing Russian oil sold above $60 per barrel.

Despite U.S. resistance, the European Union and United Kingdom – backed by other European G7 countries and Canada – have said they are prepared to move forward with the proposal, even without Washington's endorsement.

One source told Bloomberg that the EU and U.K. could explore lowering the cap without the U.S., as most of Russia's oil is transported in European waters. However, a unified G7 agreement would carry greater impact if it could be enforced by the U.S.

The price cap debate has become more urgent as oil prices, which had fallen below the $60 cap in recent months, surged following Israel's strikes against Iran in the past 24 hours.

G7 leaders will revisit the price cap discussion during the upcoming summit, hosted by Canada from June 15-17 in Kananaskis County, Alberta.

The summit agenda will also include topics such as support for Ukraine in the Russian war, global economic stability, digital transformation, and climate change.

The G7 currently includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The European Union is also represented in the group.

Israel-Iran war could provide economic boost Russia needs to continue fight against Ukraine

Israel’s “preemptive” strikes against Iran targeting the country’s nuclear program and killing top military officials could have far-reaching implications for Ukraine and could boost Russia’s ability to continue its full-scale invasion, experts have told the Kyiv Independent. Iran has been one of Russia’s staunchest allies throughout the war, providing thousands

The Kyiv IndependentChris York

Global oil prices soared on June 13  after Israel launched a strike on Iran, triggering fears of a broader conflict in the energy-rich Middle East that could disrupt global supplies, the BBC reported.

The spike threatens to undermine Western efforts to choke off a vital revenue stream for Russia, which relies heavily on oil profits to sustain its war in Ukraine.

According to the BBC, Brent and Nymex crude prices jumped by more than 10% following the Israeli attack, reaching their highest levels since January. Prices later stabilized but remained about 7.5% higher, with Brent at $74.50 a barrel and Nymex at $73.20.

The price surge comes at a crucial time for Ukraine and its Western allies, who are intensifying efforts to minimize the Kremlin's oil revenues — the backbone of Russia's wartime economy.

President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the European Union on June 11 to impose tougher sanctions on Russia, including a more aggressive price cap on oil exports.

"A ceiling of $45 per barrel of oil is better than $60, that's clear," Zelensky said at the Ukraine-Southeast Europe Summit in Odesa. "But real peace will come with a ceiling of $30. That's the level that will really change the mindset in Moscow."

The EU's current $60 per barrel cap, introduced in December 2022, prohibits Western companies from shipping, insuring, or servicing Russian oil sold above the threshold. While this measure has curtailed some of Russia's profits, the Kremlin continues to earn significant revenue, especially when market prices rise.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on June 10 that the EU is considering lowering the cap to $45, a move that will be discussed at the G7 summit in Canada between June 15 and 17. According to Reuters, most G7 countries, excluding the U.S. and Japan, are prepared to proceed with the reduction regardless of Washington’s stance.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said early on June 13 that Israeli forces had launched "Operation Rising Lion," a preemptive strike targeting Iran's nuclear program. In a televised address, Netanyahu claimed Israeli forces struck Iran's main nuclear enrichment site in Natanz and targeted key nuclear scientists.

Key to Russia’s defeat lies in its economy

As the war in Ukraine grinds on, attention remains fixed on the battlefield. But Russia’s most vulnerable flank is not in the trenches — it’s in the treasury. The West, and especially the United States, holds economic levers that could push Vladimir Putin toward serious negotiations or even collapse

The Kyiv IndependentWojciech Jakóbik

Most Group of Seven (G7) nations are prepared to lower the Russian oil price cap from $60 to $45 a barrel even without support from the United States, Reuters reported on June 12, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.

According to Reuters, the European Union and United Kingdom, backed by other European G7 countries and Canada, are ready to lead the charge in lowering the Russian oil price cap – even if U.S. President Donald Trump opts out.

The price cap, which bans Western companies from shipping, insuring, or otherwise servicing Russian oil sold above $60 per barrel, was first introduced in December 2022 as a measure to limit the Kremlin's ability to finance its war against Ukraine.

The G7 had previously attempted to lower the Russian oil price cap; however, the proposal was dropped after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reportedly declined to support it.

It is unclear whether the U.S. will support the decision this time around. Japan's position is also undecided.

Participating country leaders will revisit the price cap discussion at the upcoming G7 summit. Canada, which holds the G7 presidency this year, will host the summit on June 15-17 in Kananaskis County, located in the western province of Alberta.

The summit agenda will include topics such as support for Ukraine in the Russian war, global economic stability, digital transformation, and climate change.

President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to attend the summit and seek a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump.

EU could impose Russian oil price cap without US support, Kallas says

The European Union can impose an additional price cap on Russian oil without U.S. support, EU High Representative Kaja Kallas said at the Brussels Forum on June 11.

The Kyiv IndependentVolodymyr Ivanyshyn