Ukraine attacked a southern Russian port on the Sea of Azov with missiles, officials, sources and several media outlets said. In addition, the country reportedly launched a drone offensive and caused a fire at an oil depot in the western region of Bryansk.
The extent of the damage and the weapons used in the attack on the port were not clear, although Russia has repeatedly warned that the use of US missiles on the border between the countries represents direct Western involvement and could trigger a wider war.
Ukraine says the attacks on Russian energy facilities are retaliation for offensives on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, which knocked out about half of the country’s available generating capacity during the war, damaged distribution and caused blackouts.
The Russian Defense Ministry said air defense units destroyed 14 Ukrainian drones overnight over Bryansk, which borders Ukraine.
Regional governor Alexander Bogomaz reported on Telegram that an unspecified production facility briefly caught fire.
The Ukrainian military said the attack caused a huge fire at an oil depot, while independent Russian media outlet ASTRA reported that a refinery had been hit and showed flames.
The Soviet-built Druzhba pipeline, which pumps oil from West Siberia and the Caspian Sea to Europe, passes through Bryansk, as does the Baltic Pipeline System (BPS), which goes to the Baltic Sea.
Kazakhstan’s gas pipeline operator Kaztransoil said Druzhba was not damaged. Citing Russian authorities, it said an industrial facility caught fire and there was no threat to oil supplies originating in Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan plans to send 130,000 tonnes (equivalent to 31,000 barrels per day) of oil to Germany in December via Druzhba, in addition to the 1.358 million tonnes sent this year.
A Ukrainian sector source said the nighttime attack on a Bryansk depot did not affect oil transit to Europe via Ukraine.
Understand the War between Russia and Ukraine
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and entered the territory from three fronts: through the Russian border, through Crimea and through Belarus, a country that is a strong ally of the Kremlin.
Forces loyal to President Vladimir Putin made significant advances in the first few days, but the Ukrainians managed to maintain control of Kiev, even though the city was also attacked. The invasion was criticized internationally and the Kremlin was the target of Western economic sanctions.
In October 2024, after thousands of deaths, the war in Ukraine entered what analysts describe as its most dangerous moment yet.
Tensions rose when Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the use of an intermediate-range hypersonic missile during an attack on Ukrainian soil. The projectile carried conventional warheads, but is capable of carrying nuclear material.
The launch took place after Ukraine launched an offensive inside Russian territory using weapons manufactured by Western powers, such as the United States, the United Kingdom and France.
Western intelligence reports that Russia is using North Korean troops in the conflict in Ukraine. Moscow and Pyongyang neither deny nor confirm the report.
President Vladimir Putin, who replaced his defense minister in May, has said that Russian forces are advancing much more effectively — and that Russia will achieve all of its objectives in Ukraine, although he did not elaborate.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he believes Putin’s main goals are to occupy the entire Donbass region, encompassing the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and to expel Ukrainian troops from Russia’s Kursk region, which they have controlled parts of since August. .
