Fuel on Fire: Ukraine's Drones Push Russia's Oil Crisis to Breaking Point

Ukrainian drones on Thursday struck Russian oil facilities and set two oil tankers ablaze in the Sea of Azov, widening a campaign that has deepened Russia’s nationwide fuel crisis . The strikes came a day after US President Donald Trump pledged to license Ukraine to manufacture Patriot air defence systems.

Rostov region Governor Yuri Slyusar said the tankers were hit in Taganrog Bay , forcing crews to evacuate both vessels. The fire on one tanker was extinguished, while the other continued to burn. Ukraine’s repeated attacks on Russian refineries and fuel infrastructure have led to gasoline shortages and fuel rationing across several regions, with motorists reporting long queues at petrol stations.

Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces said the Taganrog strikes were part of a larger operation. Commander Robert “Madyar” Brovdi claimed Ukrainian units hit 14 Russian vessels overnight, including 12 tankers linked to Moscow’s sanctioned “shadow fleet”. He said the attacks brought the total number of ships struck to 35 in 96 hours . Ukrainian forces also targeted 45 military sites in occupied Crimea and southern Ukraine, including the Saky thermal power plant and fuel storage facilities.

Elsewhere, a drone strike set an oil depot on fire in Tver , western Russia, while authorities in Stavropol evacuated residents after an oil reservoir caught fire in Vyazniki. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv’s forces also struck a reserve fuel facility located 800 km from the front line and an oil-pumping station in Ufa , nearly 1,500 km away .

Russia’s Defence Ministry said it had intercepted 73 Ukrainian drones overnight. Meanwhile, Kyiv claimed Russia launched 94 drones and two ballistic missiles at Ukraine, with attacks causing damage at 13 locations.

The escalation followed Trump’s meeting with Zelenskyy at the NATO summit in Turkey , where the US president pledged the Patriot production licence and backed efforts toward a peace deal. Kyiv has defended the tanker attacks before the International Maritime Organisation, arguing that the vessels help fund Russia’s war effort.