Ukrainian drones batter Russian oil facilities and set more oil tankers ablaze

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KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian drones on Thursday hit more Russian oil facilities and set two oil tankers ablaze in the Sea of Azov, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump pledged to grant Ukraine a license to manufacture the Patriot air defense systems.

Ukraine's strikes on oil refineries and other infrastructure across Russia has triggered a widespread fuel crisis with gasoline shortages and fuel rationing reported in multiple regions and drivers waiting for hours to fill their tanks.

The acting governor of Russia’s western Tver region, Vitaly Korolyov, said a Ukrainian drone strike triggered a fire at an oil depot in the city of Tver.

In the southern region of Stavropol, Gov. Vladimir Vladimirov said oil reservoirs has been set ablaze by Ukrainian drones in Vyazniki. He said the authorities ordered the evacuation of residents of several apartment buildings near the facility as the fire expanded.

In the Sea of Azov, Ukrainian drones set two oil tankers ablaze, according to Rostov Gov. Yuri Slusar, who said that one of the ships was still burning and the crews were evacuated. The attack was the latest in a series of strikes on oil tankers in the area in recent days, part of Ukraine efforts to cut fuel supplies to Russia-occupied Crimea.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that in addition to strikes on oil facilities in Stavropol and Tver, Ukrainian defense forces also hit a reserve fuel storage facility about 800 kilometers (500 miles) from the front line, and an oil-pumping station in Ufa nearly 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) from Ukraine’s border. He said they also struck an oil-loading terminal in the Rostov region about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the front line, but it was not clear if that was the same strike described by Slusar.

Zelenskyy described the strikes as part of Kyiv’s campaign of “long-range sanctions” carried out in response to Russian attacks and Moscow’s refusal to end the war. "We have long proposed that Russia end this war, and every day of delay should bring the feeling of war to where it all began — to Russia,” Zelenskyy said.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said that air defenses downed 73 Ukrainian drones from late Wednesday until early Thursday.

Ukraine's Air Force said that Russia fired 94 long-range strike drones and two ballistic missiles at Ukraine last night. While 72 drones were jammed or intercepted, 19 drones and both missiles inflicted damages at 13 locations, it said.

During Wednesday's meeting with Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Turkey, Trump said the U.S. will give Ukraine a license to make Patriot air defense systems to counter missile attacks from Russia in their more than four-year war, a huge coup for Kyiv which has long requested the technology.

The tone of their meeting was a markedly different from an earlier, acrimonious encounter at the White House in February 2025 when Trump berated Zelenskyy. On Wednesday, he praised the Ukrainian leader’s willingness to reach a deal to ending the war, saying he has “done an amazing job” and “been very effective.”