Source: CNN
Ukraine struck a key oil terminal in the Russian port city of Novorossiysk overnight, causing infrastructure damage and igniting a blaze, as deadly overnight Russian strikes pounded Kyiv.
The depot, one of Russia’s largest oil export facilities, was targeted by Ukrainian forces in an attack acknowledged by officials from both countries that highlights Kyiv’s escalating efforts to target a key source of war revenue for Russia.
The Ukrainian General Staff said damage was caused to “valuable” infrastructure at the port and oil terminal, as well as a launcher from Russia’s S400 air defense system.
Ukrainian weapons were used in the attack on Novorossiysk, including long-range Neptune missiles and various types of strike UAVs, the General Staff said. Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine had launched the domestically produced long-range Neptune cruise missiles at Russian targets, without specifying where.
“This is our entirely justified response to the ongoing Russian terror,” Zelensky said in a social media post.
Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said this week that Ukraine was “increasing the effectiveness” of the use of domestic long-range weapons, including Neptune and Flamingo missiles, as well as jet drones.
Earlier, a source within the Security Service of Ukraine said forces struck the “second-largest oil export center in Russia,” damaging oil tankers, pipeline infrastructure and pumping stations.
The operation ignited a “major” fire at the facility, which remained burning on Friday morning, according to the source, who added that anti-aircraft missile systems were also hit.
The Russian governor of Krasnodar Krai, Veniamin Kondratiev, confirmed the attack on the oil depot in Novorossiysk, claiming that fragments of downed Ukrainian drones had hit the oil depot.
According to Kondratiev, at least four people were wounded as a result of Ukraine’s attack on the port city, adding that at least four apartment buildings and two private homes had been damaged. A state of emergency has been declared there, he said.
Overall, Russia’s defense ministry said it had intercepted a total of 216 Ukrainian drones overnight.
Meanwhile, residents of Kyiv experienced another heavy night of Russian aerial attacks. The Russian strikes on Ukraine’s capital killed at least six people and injured dozens more, local authorities said.
A married couple, aged 71 and 73, were among those killed, Kyiv police said.
Two more people were killed in a Russian attack on the Black Sea city of Chornomorsk on Friday morning, according to the head of the Odesa regional military administration.
Meanwhile, Russia’s security service has claimed it foiled a plot by Ukraine to assassinate a high-ranking Kremlin official inside Russia as the alleged target visited a graveyard.
Ukrainian special services were planning to target the unnamed man, described as “one of the highest-ranking officials of the Russian state,” while he was visiting the graves of his relatives at a cemetery outside Moscow, according to a Friday statement by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).
The FSB also claimed in its statement that Ukraine is planning similar attacks inside Russia.
CNN could not independently verify Russia’s claims. The Security Service of Ukraine denied the report, telling CNN, “They are churning out fake news and statements non-stop. Our position is not to comment on their nonsense.”
Assassinations have become a hallmark of the war between Russia and Ukraine. Targeted killings inside Russia and Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine have surged since 2022, according to monitoring group Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED).
Ukraine has also seen assassinations. In July, a Ukrainian security services officer was gunned down in broad daylight in Kyiv, with authorities blaming Russia’s security services for the killing.