Drone offensive hits Russian oil tankers and refineries at ‘industrial scale’ as Moscow bans diesel exports

Ukraine launched one of its broadest recent drone offensives against Russia’s maritime and energy networks this week, claiming strikes on 21 vessels in three days as attacks on major refineries deep inside Russia intensified pressure on Moscow’s fuel supplies.

The wave of attacks offered a striking display of Ukraine’s growing long-range capabilities.

On Wednesday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met President Donald Trump at the NATO summit in Ankara, where Trump said the United States would allow Ukraine to manufacture Patriot air-defense interceptors and the two leaders discussed a potential drone agreement.

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Zelenskyy made air defense his top priority during the bilateral meeting and said the two governments had also begun working on a separate drone agreement.

“Air defense is the priority,” Zelenskyy said. He described the emerging drone deal as “a very good beginning” and said he hoped to discuss additional details with Trump.

The timing allowed Zelenskyy to arrive at the summit with evidence that Ukraine’s domestic drone industry can threaten Russian assets far beyond the conventional battlefield.

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Trump praised Zelenskyy as “very effective” and credited Ukrainian forces with successfully operating American weapons against Russia’s much larger military.

“He’s had the best equipment because he had our equipment,” Trump said. “But somebody has to use that equipment. And you have a lot of brave people that are using that equipment.”

Ukraine is increasingly forcing Russia to defend refineries, airfields, shipping routes and other infrastructure far beyond the front. Kyiv has not achieved a comparable breakthrough in the grinding ground campaign, and Russia continues to bombard Ukrainian cities. But repeated long-range strikes have begun disrupting fuel production and maritime logistics while imposing costs on parts of Russia that were once largely insulated from the fighting.

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On Tuesday, Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces said nine Russian-linked vessels were struck in the Sea of Azov on Wednesday, bringing the number targeted over 72 hours to 21.

Commander Robert “Magyar” Brovdi said the targets included 19 oil tankers, a cargo ship and a ferry operating near Russian-occupied Crimea, according to East2West news agency. He described the campaign against the fleet as reaching an “industrial scale.”

Ukrainian and Russian officials confirmed that the overnight offensive targeted tankers, refineries, pipeline facilities and a military airfield across several Russian regions.

Ukraine says many of the vessels were part of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet and were being used to transport fuel to Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula Moscow seized and illegally annexed in 2014.

The maritime strikes were accompanied by attacks on the Saratov refinery and energy facilities in the Russian regions of Tatarstan and Bashkortostan. Russian authorities said one person was killed in Saratov.

Ukraine also said it struck the Borisoglebsk military airfield in Russia’s Voronezh region. The base has been used by Russian combat aircraft involved in attacks against Ukraine, according to Kyiv.

The latest wave followed a Ukrainian strike Monday on the Omsk refinery in Siberia, approximately 1,700 miles from Ukrainian-controlled territory. The facility is Russia’s largest oil refinery and processed about 460,000 barrels of crude per day last year, according to Reuters.

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Two industry sources subsequently told Reuters that the Omsk facility had halted oil processing following the attack.

The disruption comes as parts of Russia face gasoline and diesel shortages attributed in part to repeated Ukrainian attacks on refineries and fuel depots.

Long lines have formed at filling stations in several cities, while some regions have introduced purchasing restrictions. Russia announced Wednesday that it was temporarily banning diesel exports through July 31 to protect domestic supplies.

The shortages have become one of the most visible ways the war is reaching ordinary Russians.

Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of the Kremlin-funded RT network, acknowledged the hardships during an appearance on Russian state television and urged Russians not to respond by challenging the country’s leadership.

“There is no petrol,” Simonyan said in a translated clip distributed by regional media.

Recalling food rationing after the collapse of the Soviet Union, she said: “We endured it. And we will endure it now.”

Simonyan argued that Russia’s enemies wanted the population to react as it had during the 1917 revolution and “run off to overthrow” the czar.

“Yes, it is hard, yes, very hard,” she said, urging Russians to remain calm.

The pressure on Russia’s energy infrastructure formed the backdrop to Zelenskyy’s Wednesday meeting with Trump at the Beştepe Presidential Compound.

Russia continued its bombardment of Ukraine during the summit, striking Kyiv and other cities with missiles and drones. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said storage facilities were burning in the capital’s Desnyanskyi district and reported another fire in the Sviatoshynskyi district.