Ukraine reports deaths in four regions as drones hit 20 Russian ships

Russian strikes killed three people in Odesa and three more in Sumy as Ukraine said its drones hit 20 Russian vessels in the Black Sea overnight, including 17 oil tankers. The twin attacks captured the war’s two fronts at once: civilian casualties inland and a widening campaign to disrupt Russia’s fuel traffic at sea.

In Odesa, regional head Oleh Kiper said the city was hit by a “massive” drone-and-missile strike and that it was the fifth straight day Russia had attacked the region. The Russian Ministry of Defence said it had targeted port infrastructure in Odesa used for unloading petroleum, oil and lubricants, underscoring the city’s role in the energy logistics Russia is trying to protect and Ukraine is trying to expose.

Farther north, acting mayor Artem Kobzar said guided aerial bombs struck Sumy, killing three people and injuring 17. Ukrainian officials also reported additional casualties in the central Dnipropetrovsk region and in Zaporizhzhia, extending the day’s toll beyond the Black Sea coast and into the country’s interior.

At sea, Ukraine’s military said its drones struck 20 Russian vessels overnight in the Black Sea. The list included 17 oil tankers, a direct hit on the shadow-fleet shipping network Russia has used to move crude and fuel under sanctions pressure. Kyiv Post said the operation was carried out by Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces under commander Robert “Madyar” Brovdi and formed part of Operation MoLoChKa, or “Dairy,” timed to coincide with Ukraine’s Statehood Day.

The maritime strikes widened a campaign that has already reached the Sea of Azov, where Ukrainian forces have targeted Russian tankers and support vessels in recent days. Recent reporting said Ukraine had damaged more than two dozen Russian tankers and other vessels in related attacks, suggesting the effort has moved beyond isolated sabotage and into a sustained attempt to raise the cost of Russian energy transport.

Whether the attacks amount to a decisive battlefield shift remains unclear. Russia’s air and missile strikes continued to kill civilians in Odesa, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia even as Ukraine hit vessels tied to Moscow’s fuel trade. What is clear is that Kyiv is pushing the war deeper into the maritime routes that help keep Russia’s oil moving.