kyiv has attacked Russian oil depots, a submarine and an airfield as the 29-month war continues.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised Ukrainian forces for attacking military targets inside Russia after the military reported several attacks, including an airfield and an oil depot.
“I want to thank each of our soldiers and everyone working in our defense industry for attacking Russian airfields, oil refineries and logistics centers,” he said in a statement on Saturday.
kyiv has stepped up its airstrikes on Russian territory, saying it is carrying out the attacks in retaliation for bombings that have plagued Ukraine since Russia invaded the country more than two years ago.
Earlier on Saturday, the Ukrainian military said it had sunk a submarine in Russian-controlled Sevastopol, attacked an airfield in southern Russia and hit oil depots and fuel and lubricants storage facilities in the Belgorod, Kursk and Rostov regions.
“A Russian submarine has sunk to the bottom of the Black Sea,” the Defense Ministry said in a post on X, naming the vessel as the B-237 Rostov-on-Don attack submarine.
The General Staff of the Military Staff reported that the attack on the port of Sevastopol also significantly damaged four launchers of the S-400 “Triumf” air defense system.
The military said it attacked an ammunition depot at the Morozovsk airfield, where Russian forces stored guided aerial bombs among other equipment, and a number of oil depots and fuel storage facilities in overnight raids.
“Every strike that responds precisely to Russian bombs, that destroys Russian logistics, Russian bases, that makes it difficult for the occupier to stay on our land – every such strike brings the just end of the war closer,” Zelenskyy said.
Today I would like to express my gratitude to each of our soldiers and to all those working in our defence industry for the attacks on Russian airfields, oil refineries and logistics centres. These actions are most effective when the consequences of the Russian war are transferred to Russia… image.twitter.com/VnUeIHt2sL
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 3, 2024
The Ukrainian president has repeatedly asked his Western allies for permission to use their weapons for long-range strikes against Russia, as well as attacking military targets close to the border.
He said Russian forces had used more than 600 guided aerial bombs to attack Ukraine last week.
Meanwhile, in Moscow, local officials reported that tanks at a fuel storage depot in the Kamensky district of the Rostov region caught fire as a result of a drone strike.
The regional governor of Belgorod, near the border with Ukraine, said drones launched from kyiv caused a fire at an oil storage depot there, adding that the blaze was extinguished and no one was hurt.
Ukraine has this year dramatically increased its use of long-range drones to attack Russian oil facilities in an attempt to damage sites that supply fuel to Russian forces and the country's economy.
kyiv has also increasingly claimed responsibility for attacks on Russian-controlled territory during Russia's 29-month-old invasion of Ukraine.
