Strana 16
UKRAJINA
type. A communications system and several
coastal radars were also destroyed.
Another attack followed the next night,
April 19. In total, five ships were reportedly
hit in Sevastopol. At least two strikes were
confirmed by video footage, while satellite
imagery suggested additional damage.
The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU)
reported another drone attack on Sevastopol
on Sunday, April 26. Three ships were targeted,
two of which had already been damaged in
previous attacks. At the same time, Belbek
Air Base was targeted, with reported damage
to infrastructure, radar systems, air defenses,
and possibly a MiG-31 fighter. However, the
strike on the aircraft was not confirmed.
Footage released by Ukrainian special forces
on Wednesday, April 29, confirmed an airstrike
against a Russian Iskander missile storage
facility at the Ovrazhki base, approximately
40 km from Simferopol in occupied Crimea.
The final confirmed strike during the
reporting period also occurred on April 29.
At the forward field base of Babki in Russia’s
Voronezh region, Ukrainian drones targeted
two helicopters: a Mi-28 with the tail number
“Yellow 07” and a Mi-8 with the number “Red 60.”
Both helicopters were severely damaged. At
the moment of impact, repairs were reportedly
being carried out on the Mi-8, and a mechanic
was standing near the engine on the left side.
Nothing is known about his fate, but since
the explosion occurred exactly where he was
standing, he most likely did not survive.
Refineries On Fire
This chronological overview of Ukrainian
drone attacks excludes strikes on oil refineries.
Several were hit, but the attacks on Tuapse
deserve special attention. This port on Russia’s
Black Sea coast contains an important refinery
and oil export terminal. Tuapse had been
targeted by Ukrainian drones before, but never
on the scale seen during the reporting period.
The first attack came on Thursday, April
16, causing a major fire that engulfed fuel tanks
and port infrastructure. The refinery was
forced to halt operations completely, and the
fire was not extinguished for three days.
A second attack followed on Monday, April
20, causing even greater damage and larger
fires. Those fires were still burning when
a third wave of strikes arrived on Tuesday,
April 28. Tuapse continued to burn after the
reporting period ended, and attacks reportedly
continued.
Beyond the economic damage inflicted
on Russia’s war effort, which relies heavily
on oil exports, the attacks also caused an
environmental disaster. The burning refinery
resembled a volcanic eruption. Thick smoke
made breathing difficult throughout the city,
while droplets of oil reportedly fell from the
sky and covered everything.
Local authorities attempted to downplay
the situation. Schools were closed and
children were told to stay home, but adults
were still expected to go to work. A full state
of emergency covering the entire municipal
district was declared only after the third
attack. Russian officials even claimed that the
situation was part of a Ukrainian psychological
operation, alleging that Ukrainian drones were
dropping flammable tanks to create dramatic
images of smoke and fire.
The Commander
of Ukraine’s Drone Forces
At the time of the attacks on Tuapse, Robert
Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned
Systems Forces and better known by the
nickname “Magyar,” gave an interview to the
BBC.
“1,500 to 2,000 kilometers deep inside
Russian territory is no longer a safe rear area,”
Brovdi said. He expressed no sympathy for the
residents of Tuapse.
“If oil refineries are a tool for generating
money to finance the war, then they are
legitimate military targets and must be
In the end of April the Tuapse refinery was hit three times within a span of a few days.
The Tuapse refinery supplied a significant amount of fuel to
the Russian armed forces. After the attacks, fires raged there
almost continuously for two weeks, and operations were
suspended.
INFO Eduard16
June 2026