Ukrainian forces launched a dual attack on Russian border regions, targeting the Southern Rostov region and the Western Bryansk region, with missiles and drones. The strikes, which occurred on Wednesday morning, ignited a fire that set a Russian oil depot ablaze and damaged an industrial facility in the port city of Taganrog.
The attacks were a direct response to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s call for air defense systems to be used actively to save lives rather than remain in storage. Zelensky praised the “tangible blows against Russian targets” and emphasized that these attacks would help bring the war to a close.
According to Kyiv, the targeted oil depot in the Bryansk region was being used to supply Russia’s occupying forces. The Ukrainian military also noted that Russia was using the Bryansk facility as a key loading point for the Druzhba oil pipeline, a critical route for Russian oil heading to much of central Europe.
The ongoing strikes have damaged Moscow’s energy sector, costing billions of dollars, and have prompted Russian companies to redirect oil to locations farther from Ukraine. Ukraine defends its attacks as a legitimate response to Moscow’s strikes on its energy infrastructure, which have left millions without power.
