Ukrainian forces carried out an attack on a major Russian Black Sea port overnight, prompting a state of emergency, as Moscow launched a widespread air strike on Kyiv that killed at least six and damaged residential buildings.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukraine attacked Russian territory using long-range Neptune cruise missiles, calling it an “entirely just” response to Russia’s “ongoing terror.” While Ukrainian air defenses “neutralized” 14 Russian missiles, he said the Kremlin was taking strikes against civilian targets.
“Russia continues its terror against Ukrainian cities, specifically against civilian infrastructure – and the key targets for Russia last night were residential areas in Kyiv and energy facilities,” Zelenskiy said in a post on social-media platform X.
The assault took place as Russia ramps up strikes across the country, particularly on power facilities across Ukraine, aiming to cripple the country’s energy system ahead of winter. Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Telegram Friday that its forces launched launched a “massive” strike using drones and precision-guided weapons, including Kinzhal missiles, targeting Ukraine’s military-industrial complex and energy facilities.
In the Russian port of Novorossiysk, east of the Crimean Peninsula, falling drone debris caused a fire at a depot located at Transneft PJSC’s Sheskharis oil terminal, the regional emergency service said on Telegram early Friday.
The blaze was put out after more than 50 units of firefighting equipment were deployed at the site, authorities said, but provided no details on the damage. Novorossiysk Mayor Andrey Kravchenko announced the state of emergency on Telegram. Transneft didn’t respond to a request for comment on the situation at the facility.
A container terminal located in Novorossiysk was damaged by falling debris, but continued to operate normally, Delo Group, which runs that facility, said in a statement on Telegram. Russia’s largest grain terminal, also operated by Delo Group, was impacted by drone debris, but continues to function, the Interfax news service reported, citing the terminal’s chief executive officer.
Global benchmark Brent spiked as much as 3 percent in a rapid move toward $65 a barrel, before paring some of the gains, while West Texas Intermediate traded around $60.
Drones hit an unidentified civilian vessel in Novorossiysk’s port as well, regional emergency services said, without specifying the type of the vessel. The city’s mayor reported damage to at least three residential buildings in separate statements on Telegram.
Ukraine’s General Staff later on Friday said that it struck Rosneft PJSC’s Saratov refinery in Russia’s Volga region. That’s the third attack this month on the facility, which has a daily crude-processing capacity of about 140,000 barrels.
Bloomberg was not able to independently verify the strike or the extent of the damage. Saratov regional Governor Roman Busargin said on Telegram some civilian infrastructure was damaged following the attack. Rosneft didn’t immediately respond to a Bloomberg request for comment sent outside normal business hours.
Kyiv Hit
Russia launched about 430 drones and 18 missiles – including ballistic ones – in the strike, Zelenskiy said. Patriot and other defense systems provided by Ukraine’s parters allowed air defense to stop 14 missiles, including ballistic ones, he said.
Six people were killed, and the number of wounded rose to 35 in Kyiv, local authorities said. A rescue operation is still underway as more people may be under ruins, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Dozens of apartment buildings were damaged in the capital Kyiv.
In addition to the intensified aerial strikes, Russian forces are also pushing to capture the eastern rail hub of Pokrovsk. The city’s fall would represent the most significant prize for the Kremlin since its military took Avdiivka in February last year.
Ukraine has also stepped up strikes on Russian oil infrastructure – from refineries to crude pipelines and sea terminals – in recent months in an effort to curtail the energy revenue that helps Moscow finance its invasion. The attacks have reduced Russian crude-processing volumes, exacerbated fuel shortages in several regions of the nation and increased risks for Russia’s seaborne oil-trade.
Ukraine last struck Russia’s Black Sea oil-loading infrastructure in late September. That attack forced the Sheskharis terminal and the Caspian Pipeline Consortium loading facilities to halt operations briefly as a precautionary measure.
Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry said on Friday that crude loading into the pipeline system that links up to the port of Novorossiysk continued as normal. The ministry didn’t respond to a request for comment on loadings via the CPC terminal near Novorossiysk.
Loadings at CPC were temporarily halted and resumed Friday afternoon, people with knowledge of the matter said. It remained unclear whether operations have resumed at Sheskharis terminal, where Urals is normally loaded.
A CPC spokesman declined to comment. Novorossiysk and CPC are key outlets for seaborne export of crude from Kazakhstan and Russia, loading well over 2 million barrels a day and shipping them to global markets.
Western countries have been expanding sanctions against the Russian energy industry in a bid to cut Russia’s energy revenue. Last month, the US sanctioned Rosneft and Lukoil PJSC, the two largest Russian oil producers, creating additional challenges for the nation’s crude exports and its international trading network.
Russian strikes on Friday also hit the Kharkiv, Odesa and Sumy regions. One drone attack on Ukraine’s Black Sea city of Chornomorsk near Odesa hit a market, killing at least two people and wounding seven, the regional governor, Oleh Kiper, said on Telegram.
But Kyiv was the main target, Zelenskiy said. Debris from an Iskander missile hit the Azerbaijani Embassy as well, he said, adding he spoke to the country’s president, Ilham Aliyev, after the attack.
Zelenskiy also reinforced his plea for allies to impose more sanctions on the Kremlin.
“Russia is still able to sell oil and build its schemes,” he said. “All of this must end.”