Ukraine War – Ukraine attacks Crimea by sea and air

Pro-Ukrainian militias want to expand their attacks. Russia is reportedly doubling its production of artillery ammunition. More information on the news blog.

9:57 PM: The Russian naval port of Sevastopol on the occupied Crimean peninsula has again been targeted by Ukrainian drone and missile attacks. Russian anti-aircraft defenses shot down ten missiles and a number of drones in the evening, according to state agency TASS. A short time ago, traffic on the Crimean bridge between the peninsula and the Russian mainland was temporarily suspended. In a telegram, Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleschuk thanked his pilots and navy for their work: “The air and the sea have the same color,” he said, referring to the torch.

Russian reports say a woman and a child were injured in the attack on Sevastopol. Reports of heavy explosions in the port of Sevastopol and possible impacts on a ship docked there have been circulating on social media. The reports could not be independently confirmed.

The Russian military, for its part, targeted the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. According to Ukrainian media reports, several rockets hit the city during the day. At least one person was killed.

1:12 pm: According to information from Moscow, the Russian army has captured another village in eastern Ukraine. The Defense Ministry in Moscow explains that the Russian armed forces have “liberated the village of Krasnoi” near Pakmut. The ministry uses the old Russian name for the Ukrainian city of Ivanivsk.

In late February, Ukraine announced heavy fighting in the region. Chasiv, a strategically important location since the capture of Pakmut by the Russian army in May 2023, is where Russian soldiers will try to advance towards.

8:42 am: A fire at a Russian oil refinery has been extinguished, according to official reports. The fire broke out after a Ukrainian drone strike, the Interfax news agency reported, citing the government of the Russian region of Samara, where the Kuibyshev facility is located. Accordingly, another refinery was simultaneously attacked by a drone. However, this was unsuccessful and no damage was done to the system.

8.12 am: According to the military, Ukraine was again attacked by Russian drones at night. Ukraine's air force said it shot down 31 of 34 drones. They were detained in the central, southern and southeastern parts of the country.

7:39 am: Another oil refinery is burning on the Volga in the Russian region of Samara following a Ukrainian drone strike, according to officials. This was reported by state news agency TASS, citing Governor Dmitry Azarov. A total of twelve drones were destroyed in the regions of Bryansk (five), Belgorod (five), Voronezh (one) and Saratov (one), the Russian Defense Ministry said in a Telegram. Additionally, eleven rockets were destroyed in the Belgorod border region. Alexander Bogomas, the governor of the Bryansk region, said on his Telegram channel that there were no injuries or damage from the debris.

According to officials, two oil refineries in Samara were hit by drones. Governor Azarov said there were no injuries. The facility in the city of Novokuybyshevsk was not damaged. A fire at another refinery in Kuibyshev has been extinguished. On Friday, the Financial Times newspaper reported that the US wants to prevent Ukraine from attacking Russian oil facilities. The background is the fear that global oil prices may rise ahead of the US presidential election.