Ukraine Strikes Oil Depot, Vessels and Bridge in Major Overnight Operation

Ukraine strikes on the night of 17-18 July hit an oil depot in Moscow Oblast, vessels in the Sea of Azov and Black Sea, a Russian patrol ship in Kerch and a railway bridge in occupied Luhansk Oblast, while Russian forces launched a major overnight attack with seven missiles and 90 drones that hit logistics facilities in Russia, killing eight people and injuring more than 60. [1][2][4]

Ukrainian Strikes on Russian Targets

Ukraine's defence forces struck the Nafto-Servis oil depot in Noginsk, Moscow Oblast, which supplies fuel including to the Russian armed forces, causing a fire. [1] The General Staff reported that the facility was used to store and supply fuel, including for the needs of the Russian armed forces. [1] Ukrainian forces hit two tankers, two floating cranes, a tugboat in the Sea of Azov and Black Sea, and a Project 10410 Svetlyak-class patrol ship in Kerch, the second such vessel struck in two days. [1] The General Staff noted that this is already the second ship of this type struck in the past two days. [1] A Ukrainian strike targeted a railway bridge over the Bila River near Sabivka in occupied Luhansk Oblast used for Russian military logistics. [1] In addition, Ukrainian forces attacked a railway bridge over the Bila River near Sabivka, Luhansk Oblast, which the Russians used for military logistics. [1] Ukraine’s General Staff in a statement also mentioned a strike on the fuel depot in Noginsk, which it said supplies fuel, including to the Russian armed forces. [5] It also reported hitting two tankers, two floating cranes and a tugboat in the Black and Azov seas, saying the vessels were used to transport oil, fuel and military cargo. [5] Separately, the military said it struck a Project 10410 Svetlyak patrol ship in Kerch, describing it as the second vessel of that class hit in two days, as well as a railway bridge over the Bila River near Sabivka in the occupied Luhansk region that it said Russia uses for military logistics. [5]

Russian Attacks on Ukraine

Russian forces attacked Ukraine with seven missiles and 90 drones of various types on the night of 17-18 July. [4] Odesa Oblast was the main target of the attack. [4] Russia launched two Iskander-M ballistic missiles, two Oniks anti-ship missiles, three Kh-59/69 air-to-surface missiles and 90 drones. [4] Early reports indicated that as of 09:00, Ukrainian air defence forces had destroyed or jammed one Kh-59/69 missile and 69 Russian drones. [4] Hits by missiles and 19 UAVs have been recorded at 19 locations and the fall of downed aerial assets (debris) at five locations. [4] The attack is ongoing, as several Russian drones are still in the airspace. [4] Russia lost 1,420 soldiers killed and wounded over the past day, bringing its total number of personnel losses to 1,427,410. [4]

Russian forces attack cars and pedestrians in Kherson injuring nine people. — Source: ukrainskapravda

Logistics Facilities Hit in Russia

Eight people have been killed and 62 injured after Ukrainian drones struck two warehouses belonging to Russia's biggest online retailer, Wildberries, according to Russian officials. [2] Seven deaths and 25 injuries occurred at a warehouse in the city of Tambov, roughly 295 miles (475km) south-east of Moscow. [2] One death and 37 injuries occurred at another Wildberries warehouse in Elektrostal in the Moscow region. [2] Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the attacks had struck "major logistics facilities" which had been used to "supply sanctioned components for drone production and navigation equipment". [2] He added that Ukraine had also struck targets in the Sea of Azov, the Black Sea, and Russian-annexed Crimea. [2] Zelensky said Ukraine's operations were in response to "Russian strikes on our civilian infrastructure and on our cities and communities". [2] Overnight into Wednesday, 14 people were killed in Russian attacks across Ukraine. [2] Eight people were killed and more than 60 others were wounded in Russia by overnight Ukrainian drone attacks, Russian officials said Saturday. [5] Two sprawling warehouses of Russia's major online retailer, Wildberries, were hit by Ukrainian drones overnight, according to Russian officials: one in the town of Kotovsk in the Tambov region, some 360 kilometres (roughly 220 miles) from the border with Ukraine, and another one in the city of Elektrostal, about 50 kilometres (some 30 miles) east of Moscow. [5] Both caught fire, but Wildberries founder Tatyana Kim said later on Saturday morning that the fire in Kotovsk has been put out. [5] Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a Telegram post on Saturday that Ukrainian long-range strikes hit two “significant logistical facilities in the Moscow and Tambov regions". [5] “These facilities were used by the aggressor to supply sanctioned components for the production of drones and navigation equipment,” he wrote. [5] An oil facility was also hit, he said. [5]

Oil Depot and Additional Impacts

Ukraine's General Staff reports strikes on oil depot, tankers and "Svetlyak" vessel. [1] On the night of 17-18 July, Ukraine's defence forces struck an oil depot in Moscow Oblast, vessels in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, a Russian patrol ship in Kerch and a railway bridge in Russian-occupied Luhansk Oblast. [1] The General Staff reported that the Nafto-Servis oil depot in the town of Noginsk, Moscow Oblast, was hit, sparking a fire at the facility. [1] The General Staff said the facility was used to store and supply fuel, including for the needs of the Russian armed forces. [1] Moscow and Moscow Oblast came under a large-scale drone attack on the night of 17-18 July. [1] Fires broke out at an oil depot and a logistics centre belonging to Wildberries, the largest Russian online retailer, in the towns of Noginsk and Elektrostal near Moscow, with Russian authorities reporting dozens of people affected. [1] Ukrainian drones attacked the town of Kotovsk in Russia's Tambov Oblast, causing a fire at a logistics centre. [1] Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that logistics facilities struck in Russia's Moscow and Tambov oblasts were used to supply sanctioned components for drone production and navigation equipment. [1] A Ukrainian drone also hit an oil depot in the city of Noginsk, just north of Elektrostal, sparking a fire and prompting evacuations of a nearby maternity hospital and a residential building, according to the governor of the Moscow region, Andrei Vorobyov. [5] In Elektrostal, drone debris also hit a kindergarten building, Vorobyov said, sparking a fire that has since been put out. [5] In the city of Vladimir, some 180 kilometres (over 110 miles) east of Moscow, a Ukrainian drone hit a residential building, sparking a brief fire, Vladimir governor Alexander Avdeyev said. [5] There were no casualties, he added. [5] Ukrainian special operations also conducted strikes against targets in the Sea of Azov and in occupied territory, Zelensky said. [5] Overall, the Russian Defence Ministry said its air defences overnight intercepted 379 Ukrainian drones over 19 Russian regions, as well as the illegally annexed Crimea, the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. [5]

Ukrainian strikes hit Russian oil depot, vessels, patrol ship and bridge in overnight operation. — Source: ukrainskapravda

Civilian Casualties in Kherson

Russian forces carried out several drone attacks on Kherson on the morning of 18 July, injuring nine people, including a 14-year-old boy. [3] At around 08:35, a Russian drone hit a car in the Korabelnyi district of the city. [3] Five people were injured – two men aged 48 and 45, two women aged 37 and 52 and a 14-year-old boy. [3] They were diagnosed with blast injuries and closed head injuries were suffering from concussion. [3] Two of the men also sustained shrapnel wounds and limb injuries. [3] At approximately 08:40, a drone attacked a 66-year-old woman in the same district. [3] Medics treated her at the scene; she declined hospitalisation. [3] At around 09:10, again in the Korabelnyi district, two more men were hit by a drone strike. [3] They sustained blast injuries. [3] In addition, a 72-year-old woman was taken to hospital after being injured in a morning drone attack in the Dniprovskyi district of Kherson. [3] She was diagnosed with a blast injury, an open leg fracture and wounds to the abdomen and face. [3]

Context and Statements

Ukraine has recently intensified its long-range drone attacks on Russia's critical energy infrastructure, causing widespread fuel shortages. [2] Earlier this month, Kyiv said nearly 43% of Russia's oil refining capacity had been "disabled" as a result. [2] The BBC has not independently verified this figure. [2] Ukraine says Russian oil and gas facilities are legitimate targets as Moscow relies heavily on fossil fuel exports to finance its full-scale invasion, which began in February 2022. [2] Russian President Vladimir Putin made a rare admission last month that fuel shortages had been caused by Ukrainian attacks, and signed into law a bill aimed at boosting supplies to the domestic fuel market in early July. [2] Kyiv's forces are continuing their relentless aerial campaign against energy infrastructure and military targets inside Russia, aiming to undermine Moscow’s war effort and make Russians feel the consequences of the Kremlin's all-out invasion of Ukraine that is well into its fifth year. [5] Wildberries is often described as the Russian equivalent of Amazon. [2] The merged RWB group, which combines Wildberries with advertising company Russ, was valued at about $12.6bn (£9.3bn) by Forbes Russia in 2026. [2] Wildberries CEO, Tatyana Kim, said it had been a "terrible night" for Russia and for the company. [2] "Seven people working the night shift died on the spot," governor of the Tambov region Evgeniy Pervyshov wrote on Telegram, adding that 28 drones were also shot down on approach. [2] He said 25 people had been injured, including seven in serious condition. [2] Most of these injuries were caused by shrapnel wounds, he said. [2] It was the "largest and most inhumane" attack on Tambov region in terms of the number of drones used and the number of casualties, he said. [2] Meanwhile, governor of the Moscow region Andrei Vorobyov said eight of those injured in the strikes on the Wildberries warehouse in Elektrostal were in "serious condition". [2] He added that total of 48 drones were shot down in the Moscow region overnight, and that a Russian oil depot had also been struck by a falling drone, which he described as the incident with "the most serious consequences". [2] "Firefighters, emergency services, and the Ministry of Emergency Situations continue to work at the scene," he wrote on Telegram. [2] He did not describe the level of damage in detail. [2] Zelensky separately confirmed Ukraine had struck "an oil facility". [2]

What to watch next: Ukrainian forces may continue targeting Russian logistics and energy sites while Russian drone and missile strikes persist across Ukrainian regions including Odesa and Kherson.

Further Reading

• Ukraine War Map