Ukrainian forces continue to expand their campaign of long-range strikes against Russian military facilities and oil infrastructure, increasingly successfully exploiting weaknesses in Russian air defense. This is stated in their latest analysis by the Institute for the Study of War, reports News.bg.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that on May 3, Ukrainian forces struck a Russian small missile ship of the “Karakurt“ class, a patrol ship and an oil tanker from the so-called shadow fleet near the port of Primorsk in the Leningrad Region. He said that serious damage was also caused to the oil loading infrastructure.
Data from NASA's FIRMS system also shows thermal anomalies reported in the port area, which confirms the information about fires.
The governor of the Leningrad region, Alexander Drozdenko, admitted that on the night of May 3, Russian air defense shot down over 60 Ukrainian drones, but some of them reached their targets and caused fires near Primorsk.
According to Zelensky, Ukrainian forces also struck two ships of the Russian shadow fleet at the entrance to the port of Novorossiysk in the Krasnodar Territory, this time with unmanned surface vehicles.
Meanwhile, satellite images show that previous Ukrainian strikes against the dispatch station “Transeft Perm“ have destroyed approximately 70% of the facility, burned all major tanks, and blocked its operation indefinitely.
Since mid-March, Kiev has visibly increased the frequency, distance, and scale of such operations, targeting key ports, oil terminals, and logistics centers deep in the Russian rear.
Analysts note that through the increasing production of drones, Ukraine is now systematically striking Russian energy infrastructure, making it difficult to store and export oil – one of the main sources of revenue for the Kremlin.
According to data cited by Zelensky, since the beginning of 2026 alone, these strikes have caused Russia losses of at least $7 billion, and key ports such as Ust-Luga and Primorsk are already operating below their normal capacity.
Despite the temporary financial effect of the rise in oil prices on world markets, experts believe that the additional Russian revenues are not enough to compensate for the growing economic pressure and damage from the Ukrainian long-range strike campaign.