Ukrainian drones have attacked a dozen tankers from Russia’s “shadow fleet” over the past two days that were delivering fuel to Crimea, Kyiv’s military said, as it intensifies efforts to isolate the Russian-occupied peninsula. Ukraine’s drone forces said they had struck eight vessels subject to sanctions in the Sea of Azov, each with a deadweight of about 7,000 metric tons. Two more tankers were hit later in the day, they added.
Ukraine’s capital Kyiv came under a Russian missile attack early on Wednesday, triggering fires and injuring at least two people, the city’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said. Klitschko said strikes in the capital caused a fire in a storage area and a non-residential building. Two people were injured, with one requiring treatment in hospital. The air alert lasted for about an hour. The latest onslaught comes after Russian strikes – including multiple missile hits on Kyiv – killed 30 people in Ukraine on Monday.
A missile strike in the southern port of Odesa earlier in the evening injured 10 people, the regional governor, Oleh Kiper, said. Eight were being treated in hospital.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, made a fresh appeal for his country to be allowed to join Nato, saying his country’s armed forces are highly experienced and would boost the alliance’s defense capabilities. He highlighted Ukraine’s ability to strike deep inside Russia and hit oil refineries and other energy targets. He said Ukraine’s armed forces were “eliminating” on average 30,000 Russian troops every month. He is to meet with the US president, Donald Trump, on Wednesday in Ankara. “Frankly, we take no pride in this,” Zelenskyy said, noting that the war with Russia – now in its fifth year – is one “we did not seek but one we are forced to fight.”
