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It came after Russia launched its heaviest air attack of 2026, killing four in strikes targeting Kyiv and Kharkiv
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Multiple oil tankers have been struck in an attack by drones while unloading crude oil at a terminal on Russia‘s coast, according to sources.
It is not yet clear who is behind the strikes on Tuesday, with the Ukrainian military and the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which operates the terminal, declining to comment on the strikes.
The Greek-managed oil tankers included Delta Harmony, which is managed by Greece’s Delta tankers and was expected to load oil from Tengizchevroil, and Matilda, managed by Greece’s Thenamaris and was expected to load oil from Karachaganak.
It was later reported that the Delta Supreme was also hit near Russian Black Sea’s CPC terminal, raising the total number to three.
The strikes come after at least four people were killed in Russia’s most intense aerial bombardment of Ukraine so far this year, with major strikes targeting Kyiv and Kharkiv overnight.
Russia fired at least 293 drones and 18 missiles overnight, according to the Ukrainian air force, the most so far in 2026.
Ukraine’s military said it had struck a drone manufacturing plant in the Rostov region of Russia, sparking fires at the scene.
In a joint operation between the Ukrainian Navy and the Security Service’s Alpha Special Operations Centre, the drones struck production facilities at the Atlant Aero plant in Taganrog last night.
Loud explosions were heard and a fire triggered at the scene, the Security Service reported according to Ukrainska Pravda.
It claimed that the strike will reduce the volume of drone production, one of the central tools used by Russian forces to carry out its invasion of Ukraine. Drones are used both for major overnight strikes and for reconnaissance missions.
Russian forces targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in overnight strikes and have caused substantial damage, Volodymyr Zelensky says.
“Almost 300 attack drones, most of them ‘shaheds’, along with 18 ballistic and 7 cruise missiles, were launched by the Russians against Ukraine last night. Once again, the main target of the strike was our energy – generation facilities and substations,” he said on X.
“Sadly, there has been extensive destruction of residential and civilian infrastructure. Dnipro, Zhytomyr, Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv, Odesa, Sumy, Kharkiv, and Donetsk regions came under attack,” he added.
Zelensky accused Russia of hitting a postal terminal in Kharkiv without “any military purpose whatsoever”, killing four people.
He said Ukraine should get the deliveries of weapons already agreed upon by America and Europe. “Russia must come to learn that cold will not help it win the war,” he said.
Russia ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia has threatened Ukraine to accept Moscow’s terms for ending the war or watch the negotiations worsen.
“He was warned long ago, with each passing day, each day which he squanders, the conditions for negotiations will only get worse for him,” Nebenzia said.
Speaking at the emergency meeting called by the Security Council, Nebenzia said that until Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky “comes to his senses and agrees to realistic conditions for negotiations, we will continue solving the problem by military means.”
“Similarly, each vile attack on Russian civilians will elicit a stiff response,” he said.
Russian forces fired at least 293 drones and 18 missiles at Ukraine overnight, the Ukrainian air force said this morning.
Ukraine’s air defences shot down at least 240 of the drones and seven missiles, the air force said.
Combined it is the highest number of aerial weapons Russia has fired at Ukraine so far this year.
Last week, on Thursday night into Friday, Russia fired 242 drones and 36 missiles at its smaller neighbour.
That attack included a hypersonic Oreshnik missile aimed at Lviv, sparking widespread condemnation from the UN Security Council at an emergency meeting on Monday.
The Kremlin issued a stark warning in defence of its ally Iran on Tuesday, as Donald Trump assured protesters that “help is coming”.
Russia’s foreign ministry condemned what it called “subversive external interference” in Iran’s internal politics, rallying behind Tehran against US involvement.
The matter threatens to damage relations with Washington at a crucial time in US-mediated peace talks over Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“Those who plan to use externally inspired unrest as a pretext for repeating the aggression against Iran committed in June 2025 must be aware of the disastrous consequences of such actions for the situation in the Middle East and global international security,” it said in a statement, referring to the US and Israeli strikes last summer.
The foreign ministry said Donald Trump’s threat of strikes was “categorically unacceptable”.
Ukrainian lawmakers on Tuesday voted against naming outgoing defence minister Denys Shmyhal as energy minister after president Volodymyr Zelensky proposed him for the top job.
A total of 265 MPs voted in favour of dismissing Mr Shmyhal from his decision, according to Ukrainska Pravda.
Mr Zelensky had previously said he had expected parliament would approve Mr Shmyhal for the posts of deputy prime minister and minister of energy.
Nato’s secretary general Mark Rutte he expects member states will hold talks on the security in the Arctic region in the coming weeks, amid Donald Trump’s push to take control of Greenland.
“We all agree that when it comes to the Arctic, we have to work together,” he added during a conference held in Brussels.
European countries have firmly rejected the idea of any US control over Greenland, and Washington is yet to make a serious move regarding its desire to control the semi-autonomous Danish territory.
The Chevron CVX.N vessel among those reported to have come under drone attack near the Caspian Pipeline Consortium’s terminal in the Black Sea on Tuesday was proceeding to a safe port, the U.S. oil major said.
“All crew are safe and the vessel remains stable,” Chevron said.
Germany indicted two Ukrainians linked to an alleged Russian spy plot to detonate packages while they were being transported across Europe, prosecutors said on Tuesday.
In March 2025, suspects named as Daniil B, Vladyslav T and Yevhen B, sent two packages with GPS trackers from the western German city of Cologne to Ukraine on the orders of Russian intelligence agents in Mariupol, prosecutors said.
The aim was to look at logistics routes to allow them to later send packages with explosive devices which would ignite in Germany or elsewhere.
Russia has denied any involvement.
Daniil B and Vladyslav T were arrested in Germany in May and remain in pre-trial detention. Yevhen B, who was arrested in Switzerland that same month, was extradited to Germany on December 23, with charges expected to be filed shortly.
As we earlier reported, Greek-managed oil tankers were hit by unidentified drones in the Black Sea before unloading at a Russian terminal, according to sources speaking to Reuters news agency.
Earlier, we reported that two tankers had been struck. It has now been confirmed that a third, the Freud, was also hit. The other two tankers hit were the Delta Harmony and Delta Supreme.
It was not immediately clear who was behind Tuesday’s strikes. Kyiv has not immediately commented, while the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which operates the terminal where the tankers were due to take on board cargoes, declined to comment.
Attacks on tankers in the Black Sea could increase both shipping and insurance costs for those seeking to load oil at Russian terminals on the Black Sea, which handle more than 2 per cent of global crude.
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