Ukraine Strikes Three Russian Shadow Fleet Tankers and Stavropol Oil Depots as Russia Strikes Escalate
Ukrainian forces struck three Russian shadow fleet tankers on the Black Sea and four oil depots in Russia's Stavropol Krai on 19 July, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky, as part of retaliatory actions following large-scale Russia strikes on Ukrainian cities including Kyiv. [5]
Ukrainian Strikes on Russian Oil Infrastructure and Shadow Fleet
Ukraine's General Staff reported that long-range drones hit two Russian tankers in the Black Sea, a floating crane in the Azov Sea, and a Soviet-era Buk air defense system in occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast. [5] The Security Service of Ukraine stated that its naval drone attacked the third shadow fleet tanker, the Avero, which had been transporting Russian crude oil to China and India. [5] Zelensky stated the strikes respond to Russia strikes in a justified and accurate manner, coming hours after one of Russia's largest ballistic missile assaults on Kyiv. [5] Ukrainian strikes also targeted a road bridge east of occupied Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast and 13 electrical infrastructure sites in Crimea and occupied territories, per Ukrainian military reports. [5] Russian authorities confirmed Ukrainian drone strikes on industrial facilities in Stavropol Krai, causing fires and detonations but no reported casualties. [5]
Russian Retaliatory Attacks on Kyiv
Russian attacks overnight and over the past day killed at least 20 people and injured over 140 across Ukraine, with specific attacks on Kyiv, Kharkiv, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa. [4] Russia deployed 125 drones, 25 ballistic missiles, 10 Zirkon hypersonic missiles, and six other missiles overnight, Ukraine's Air Force reported, with most projectiles aimed at Ukraine's capital. [4] The overnight attack on Kyiv and its surrounding oblast killed at least one person and injured 17 others. [4] A warehouse belonging to GoodWine, a wine retail company, was destroyed on the night of 18-19 July. [3] The company reported that no GoodWine team members were injured, however people were injured among the logistics operator's team. [3] An air-raid warning was issued in Kyiv and several oblasts on the night of 18-19 July, due to the threat of Russian ballistic missiles. [3] Over 40 explosions rocked the capital, with residential buildings, a shopping centre and vehicles catching fire. [3] Russian forces hit a logistics hub in Kyiv Oblast, causing a large fire. [3] A direct missile hit also destroyed facilities belonging to UKRTAC, a manufacturer of ballistic protection. [3]
Satellite image shows destroyed Russian Tu-95MS bomber beyond repair. — Source: ukrainskapravda
Russian Strikes in Kharkiv Oblast
Russia launched missiles at Kyiv, Kharkiv, and other cities. [4] Hours after the attack on Kyiv, a Russian missile strike hit Ukrainian postal giant Nova Poshta's terminal in the suburbs of the country's second-largest city, Kharkiv, in the northeast. [4] The mid-day attack killed at least four people, including three men aged 24, 45, and 62, and injured at least 19, Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported. [4] A morning Russian drone attack on a five-floor apartment building in the front-line town of Izium also injured 17 people, including a one-year-old boy, according to Syniehubov. [1] Five residential apartment buildings and 20 vehicles were damaged in the attack on Izium. [1] A total of 10 people sustained blast injuries and glass fragment wounds. [1] Another 10, including a one-year-old boy, were diagnosed with acute stress reaction. [1] In other attacks across Kharkiv Oblast over the past day, two people were killed, and 20 others were injured, the governor said in the morning. [4]
Casualties and Damage Across Other Ukrainian Regions
In adjacent Sumy Oblast, bordering Kharkiv Oblast to its east, Russia launched seven guided aerial bombs (KABs) at the regional capital of Sumy, targeting residential and industrial areas, according to Governor Oleh Hryhorov. [4] A man's body was found under the rubble, and three others were hospitalized following the attack, according to Hryhorov. [4] In other attacks across Sumy Oblast over the past day, a person was killed, and four others were wounded by Russian attacks, Hryhorov said. [4] Acting Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said one of the Russian attacks on Sumy Oblast destroyed a rehabilitation center's facilities for children and adults with disabilities. [4] Down in southeastern Zaporizhzhia Oblast, a Russian first-person view (FPV) drone hit an International Red Cross ambulance in the town of Vilniansk, about 20 kilometers (about 10 miles) northeast of Zaporizhzhia, Governor Ivan Fedorov reported. [4] In another attack on Zaporizhzhia Oblast, a Russian drone attack struck a passenger train heading to Zaporizhzhia, injuring one of the conductors, Fedorov said. [4] In other attacks across Zaporizhzhia and its surrounding areas over the past day, 13 people, including two children, were wounded by Russian attacks, Fedorov said. [4] In southern Kherson Oblast, Russian attacks over the past day killed two people and injured 29, including four children, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported. [4] The casualties include a 75-year-old woman and a 58-year-old man, who were killed this morning by a KAB attack and a drone strike, respectively, according to Prokudin. [4] In eastern Donetsk Oblast, five people were killed, and six others were wounded by Russian attacks over the past day, Governor Vadym Filashkin said. [4] In central-eastern Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, a person was killed by Russian drone attacks over the past day, Governor Oleksandr Haznha said. [4] In the southern port city of Odesa, a Russian missile strike injured one person, Governor Oleh Kiper reported. [4] In an overnight missile strike on Odesa Oblast, three people were killed, including a 16-year-old boy, and 12 others were injured, including a two-year-old boy and a 17-year-old girl, according to Kiper. [4]
Russian missile strikes retail company warehouse in Kyiv during large-scale attack. — Source: ukrainskapravda
Confirmation of Damage to Russian Strategic Bomber
Satellite images of the Engels-2 air base confirm the destruction of a Russian Tu-95MS strategic bomber following a strike by Ukraine's Security Service of Ukraine. [2] AviVector specified that the bomber was struck on the night of 15-16 July. [2] The tail section of the Tu-95MS was completely destroyed and is beyond repair, the statement reads. [2] On a satellite image taken on 19 July at 05:10 UTC, AviVector analysts marked the damaged Tu-95MS alongside another undamaged bomber of the same type. [2] The two Tu-95MS bombers had been stationed at the Engels-2 air base for an extended period, where they were used for rotation, underwent maintenance and carried out training flights. [2] President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on 17 July that a Tu-95 strategic bomber, which Russia used for missile strikes against Ukraine, had been destroyed at the Engels military airfield in Russia's Saratov Oblast. [2]
Russian Claims and Context
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed to have downed 140 Ukrainian drones across Russia and occupied Crimea, as well as over the Black Sea and Azov Sea, overnight on July 19. [5] Monitoring channels previously reported Ukrainian strikes against an oil depot in Russia's Stavropol Krai, as well as targets in occupied Crimea and Luhansk Oblast, overnight on July 19. [5] Authorities in Stavropol Krai confirmed Ukrainian drone strikes overnight and reported fires in industrial areas in the north of Stavropol and its outskirts. [5] Due to fires at industrial facilities, flammable materials are detonating — the sound is audible in Stavropol, Stavropol Krai Governor Vladimir Vladimirov said on his Telegram channel, reporting no casualties. [5] The reported overnight attacks come as Ukraine ramps up its long-range drone attacks across Russian-occupied territories and deep inside Russia, in an attempt to slowly grind down Russia's war machine from afar. [5] It is difficult to independently assess the effect that these strikes are having on the Russian army's combat operations on the battlefield. [5] Over July, Ukraine launched an intense operation against Russia's shadow fleet on the Black Sea and Azov Sea, hitting dozens of them to cripple logistics in and out of occupied Crimea as the fuel crisis worsens in the peninsula. [5]
What to watch next: Ukraine continues long-range operations against Russia's shadow fleet on the Black Sea and Azov Sea while Russia maintains missile and drone pressure on multiple Ukrainian regions.
