Ukraine’s drone forces claimed to have hit 116 vessels in the Sea of Azov in the past nine days as Vladimir Putin vowed a powerful retaliation to Ukrainian attacks on its territory.
The commander of Ukraine’s drone forces said its drones struck several tankers and cargo ships with the aim of damaging Russia’s “shadow fleet”. Russia is considering rerouting cargo from the Sea of Azov after increased Ukrainian attacks on shipping, the transport ministry said on Tuesday.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov called the attacks as “acts of terrorism”.It comes as Putin said Moscow would respond to Ukrainian attacks on its territory with retaliatory strikes that would be “several times more powerful”, adding that the scale of such responses would increase.
Ukraine’s military also said it struck two Russian oil refineries in the Bashkortostan and Krasnodar regions, sparking fires at the Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat complex and the Afipsky refinery, with Russian authorities confirming both blazes.
Russian-controlled Sevastopol in Crimea imposed rolling power cuts after Ukrainian attacks, while fuel shortages linked to strikes on refineries and logistics have led to gasoline restrictions across Crimea.
