Ukraine Strikes New Russian Oil Tankers with Drone Attack
Our image is an illustration of a ship of the Russian shadow fleet intercepted off the coast of Trelleborg, Sweden on May 4, 2026.
Ukraine carried out drone attacks on 21 more Russian oil tankers in the Sea of Azov overnight, the Ukrainian General Staff said on Saturday.
The message posted on Telegram said that besides the tankers, four tugs, two cargo ships, and a dredger were also hit; the extent of damage is still being assessed. If the Ukrainian claim holds, this could be the largest drone attack on Russian ships in recent operations.
However, Russian authorities reported far fewer ships attacked. Yuri Slyusar, governor of the Rostov region, said that only four ships were hit overnight. According to the governor, a sailor serving on an auxiliary ship was killed. Slyusar said the damage was minor and the cargo of methanol tanker is not in danger of leakage.
The claims of the warring parties could not be independently confirmed, according to dpa. Ukraine has carried out several attacks on Russian ships and facilities at the Taganrog sea port in recent days. Kyiv is trying to curb Moscow's lucrative oil exports and cut off fuel supplies to Russian armed forces in occupied southern and eastern Ukraine.
The latest reports say there are also casualties from the Russian attack on Sumy in northern Ukraine on Saturday. Oleh Hrihorov, head of the military administration of Sumy region, said on Telegram that four people were killed and 17 wounded when two guided aerial bombs hit a densely populated area of the city, one at a bus stop.
In the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa, two people died and a third was wounded in a rocket attack, and a drone hit a civilian plant in Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine, wounding seven people.
