Ukrainian military authorities said on Saturday that an overnight drone operation in the Sea of Azov damaged 21 Russian tankers transporting crude oil and petroleum products, along with a number of other vessels. The General Staff of Ukraine added that the operation also hit four tugboats, two cargo ships and a dredging vessel.
Russia disputed Kyiv's account of the incident, saying only four vessels were targeted. Regional officials reported that one person was killed in the Ukrainian drone strikes.
The strikes in the Sea of Azov form part of a broader pattern in which Kyiv has increasingly struck at Russian refineries, fuel depots and energy transport infrastructure, according to Ukrainian statements. Ukrainian authorities say the campaign aims to disrupt fuel supplies being used to support Moscow's military operations and has helped produce gasoline shortages in parts of Russia.
In response, Russia carried out a large-scale missile and drone barrage across Ukraine overnight. Ukrainian officials reported at least six people were killed, including a child, and 29 were wounded in the attacks. The northeastern Sumy region saw four fatalities, including a child, after two aerial glide bombs struck a densely populated civilian area, regional governor Oleh Hryhorov said.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy provided an account of the scale of the Russian assault, saying Moscow launched 12 missiles, six of which he described as ballistic, and 121 drones during the nocturnal strikes. Ukrainian air defenses said they intercepted or electronically suppressed 111 drones and two missiles, but direct hits were recorded at 11 locations, a reminder of Kyiv's ongoing exposure to ballistic missile attacks.
Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces targeted Ukrainian drone production facilities in Kyiv as well as port infrastructure in the Odesa region, including Izmail and Chornomorsk. The ministry also reported that Russian air defenses destroyed 178 Ukrainian drones overnight across eight Russian regions, over the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula, and above the Black and Azov seas.
The episodes underscore the continued use of long-range strikes and unmanned systems by both sides, and the explicit focus on energy and transport infrastructure in recent Ukrainian operations. Officials on both sides offered differing accounts of scale and impact, leaving some questions about the precise damage assessments.