KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian drones carried out a new round of attacks Thursday, targeting oil infrastructure across Russia and igniting two oil tankers in the Sea of Azov — just one day after U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to give Ukraine the rights to manufacture Patriot air defense systems.
Ukraine’s repeated strikes on Russian oil refineries and related infrastructure have sparked a serious fuel crisis inside Russia, with gasoline shortages and rationing reported across multiple regions. Drivers in some areas have reportedly waited hours just to fill their tanks.
Early Thursday morning, a Ukrainian drone strike set off a fire at an oil depot in the city of Tver in western Russia, according to acting regional Gov. Vitaly Korolyov.
In the southern Stavropol region, Gov. Vladimir Vladimirov reported that Ukrainian drones had set oil reservoirs on fire in Vyazniki. He said officials ordered the evacuation of residents from several nearby apartment buildings as the blaze grew larger.
Out on the Sea of Azov, Ukrainian drones struck and set two oil tankers on fire, according to Rostov Gov. Yuri Slusar. He noted that one vessel was still burning and that crew members had been safely evacuated. The strike is the latest in a string of recent attacks on tankers in the region, which Ukraine says is aimed at cutting off fuel deliveries to Russian-occupied Crimea.
Russia’s Defense Ministry reported that its air defenses shot down 73 Ukrainian drones between late Wednesday night and early Thursday morning.
Ukraine’s Air Force, meanwhile, said Russia launched 94 long-range strike drones and two ballistic missiles at Ukraine overnight. Of those, 72 drones were either jammed or intercepted — but 19 drones and both missiles caused damage at 13 different locations.
The drone exchanges came on the heels of a notable diplomatic moment. During Wednesday’s NATO summit in Turkey, President Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and announced that the U.S. would license Ukraine to produce Patriot air defense systems — a major victory for Kyiv, which has long sought access to the technology to defend against Russian missile attacks in their more than four-year war.
The tone of Wednesday’s meeting stood in sharp contrast to a tense and widely-watched confrontation between the two leaders at the White House back in February 2025. This time, Trump spoke warmly of Zelenskyy, praising his willingness to pursue a peace deal and saying the Ukrainian leader has “done an amazing job” and “been very effective.”
