Russia said a Ukrainian drone hit a tanker as it was entering the canal between the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea on Sunday, as Kyiv intensifies its attacks on Russian fuel supplies.
The governor of Russia’s Rostov region, Yury Slyusar, said on Telegram that a drone strike caused a fire on the vessel but that it had since been contained.
The drone attack came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Kyiv would set up a new military unit instructed to make incursions deep in Russian territory to degrade Moscow’s fighting capabilities.
Reports of fuel shortages in Russia have been multiplying as Kyiv has intensified its drone strikes on Russian energy infrastructure in recent weeks.
Last week, Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces had hit oil facilities in Russia’s Saratov region and Tatarstan as part of what he called a “fully justified” retaliation campaign for Russia’s attacks on Ukraine. The strikes led Russia to announce it would halt diesel exports to protect its domestic fuel supply.