Ukraine strikes an oil pumping station in Perm, more than 1,500 km away. Ukraine strikes Russia’s sanctioned oil tanker with naval drones. Ukraine is preparing to export domestically made weapons, Zelenskyi says.
Ukraine strikes oil pumping station in Perm, more than 1,500 km away
Ukrainian drones struck the Perm Linear Production Dispatch Station in Russia, located more than 1,500 km from the border with Ukraine, Ukraine’s Security Service said in a post to social media on Wednesday.
The Alfa Special Operations Center of Ukraine’s Security Service was behind the operation. The attack ignited a massive fire at an oil pumping station. According to preliminary reports, almost all oil storage tanks were on fire, the agency said.
The station is part of Russia’s Transneft company and is a strategic hub for the country’s oil pipeline system. It distributes oil in four directions, including to the Perm oil refinery.
“The Security Service of Ukraine systematically decreases Russia’s export potential and undermines its economic basis that it uses to fund the war against Ukraine,” said acting head of the agency, Major General Yevheniy Khmara.
A drone attack on Perm on Wednesday caused what was described as “oil rain”, The New Voice of Ukraine said. The city of Orsk in Russia’s Orenburg region was also targeted.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said he had heard a report from Khmara on Wednesday. He also announced “a new stage in the use of Ukrainian weapons to limit the potential of Russia’s war.”
Ukraine already hits targets more than 1,500 km away, he said. He also thanked the personnel of the security service for “accurate strikes.”
“We will continue to extend these ranges, and these are entirely justified Ukrainian responses to Russian terror,” Zelenskyi said. “It is important that every strike reduces the capabilities of Russia’s military industry, logistics, and oil exports. The results are obvious to everyone,” he added.
At the same time, he called on Russia to end the war. “It is time to move to diplomacy, and this is a signal that Moscow should hear,” Zelenskyi said.
Ukraine strikes Russia’s sanctioned oil tanker with naval drones
The Ukrainian Navy struck the sanctioned Marquise oil tanker 210 kilometers east of Tuapse in Russia on Wednesday, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on social media. The strike was carried out using two one-way unmanned surface vehicles.
“[The vessel] was struck in the stern, propulsion and steering sections and the engine room,” it said.
The Marquise was flying under the Cameroonian flag, had a carrying capacity of over 37,000 tons, and was traveling without cargo — likely waiting for loading at sea from another vessel. It traveled with its automatic identification system, or AIS, switched off.
The tanker was sanctioned by Ukraine, the UK, the EU, Switzerland, New Zealand and Canada. Russia used it to illegally transport oil products.
The extent of the damage is being determined, the General Staff said.
“Ukraine’s defense forces will continue to carry out systematic measures to stop Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine,” it added.
Ukraine preparing to export domestically made weapons, Zelenskyi says
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi announced on Tuesday that Ukraine is preparing to export domestically made weapons and has agreed the necessary state procedures. The country’s international partners show interest in the Ukraine’s defense production, he added.
“We have proposed to partners who support Ukraine a special format of cooperation – Drone Deals – special agreements on the production and supply of our drones, missiles, ammunition, and other in-demand types of weapons, military equipment, software, integration with partners’ defense systems, as well as the provision of our expertise and the technological exchange needed by Ukraine. Today, I approved the areas for this interstate work and the development of automatic permits for businesses regarding arms exports,” he said in a post to X.
Countries will first have to define a framework for security cooperation with Ukraine on the principle of reciprocity through defense deals. Then the purchasing would continue through state institutions and manufacturers.
“We are simplifying bureaucratic procedures, maintaining an adequate level of export control, and launching practical operating mechanisms for companies. Ukrainian companies will receive a real opportunity to enter partner countries’ markets, provided that our military has the right to receive the necessary volume of weapons first,” Zelenskyi said.
Ukraine is making a surplus of up to 50 per cent in some types of weapons, he added.
Zelenskyi said he had instructed the Foreign Affairs Ministry, intelligence agencies and the Security Service to draw a list of countries which cooperate with Russia and where Ukrainian weapons cannot be exported. Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council will coordinate export processes.
Ukraine will strictly track weapons and software to ensure Ukrainian military tech doesn’t get into the wrong hands. It will also make sure that the needs of Ukraine’s defense forces are met first, the message reads.