Ukraine and Russia trade heavy fire in latest escalation
Oil prices have gained as Ukraine and Russia locked in a fierce exchange of fire in recent weeks.
IMAGE: Aerial view of cargo ship transiting the Black Sea. Getty Images
Ukraine has struck 20 Russia-linked vessels in the Black Sea yesterday – of which, 17 were Russian oil tankers, two gas carriers and one tugboat – Ukraine’s drone unit commander Robert Brovdi said on social media platform Telegram.
The Black Sea is one of the most vital conduits for Russian crude and fuel exports.
The latest round of attack comes shortly after Ukrainian drones struck 116 vessels linked to the Russian shadow fleet in the Sea of Azov earlier this week, Brovdi said.
Ukraine has conducted major strikes against Russia’s shipping capacity in the Sea of Azov and Taganrog Bay in recent weeks. Last week, Ukrainian drones struck two fuel tankers off Russia’s southern coast.
“I deplore the series of attacks… against civilian merchant ships operating in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea,” the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) secretary-general Arsenio Dominguez said in a statement condemning the attacks.
Kyiv has also struck the Afipsky refinery in Russia’s Krasnodar region this week, sparking a fire near its tank farm. Gazprom Neft Salavat in Bashkortostan – one of Russia’s largest refining complexes – was also hit, according to media reports.
This extensive drone campaign has driven Russian oil refining runs to the lowest in more than 21 years, averaging only 3.91 million b/d, Bloomberg reported.
Kyiv is intensifying its campaign to cripple Russian energy revenues, expanding its focus beyond refineries and export terminals to target Moscow's vital fuel supply routes and tanker fleet.
Russia counters with Odesa port strikes
Meanwhile, Russian airstrikes on Odesa’s ports have left a trail of casualties and triggered a temporary shutdown of operations at the nearby Chornomorsk hub – operated by one of Ukraine’s largest agricultural companies and sunflower oil exporters Kernel.
A Russian drone has struck a merchant vessel while it was stationed at a port in the Odesa region earlier this week. The Togo-flagged cargo vessel was discharging mineral fertilisers when the drone hit it, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister Oleksii Kuleba said.
“As a result of hitting the superstructure of the vessel, a fire broke out,” Kuleba said on social media platform X.
The attacks coincide with a renewed oil price rally, triggered by Iran's escalating regional aggression and US reinstating its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
By Aparupa Mazumder
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