Ukraine strikes 3 shadow fleet tankers on Black Sea, oil depots in southwestern Russia, Zelensky says

Editor's note: The story has been updated with additional details.

Ukrainian forces struck three Russian shadow fleet tankers in the Black Sea, and four oil depots in Stavropol Krai, President Volodymyr Zelensky reported on July 19, marking another wave of strikes against Russia's oil trade.

"We continue to respond to Russian strikes in a fully justified and accurate manner," Zelensky said on X, shortly after Russia launched one of its heaviest ballistic missile strikes on Kyiv.

The news comes hours after the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported that Ukrainian long-range drones hit two Russian tankers in the Black Sea and a floating crane in the Azov Sea overnight, as well as a Soviet-era Buk air defense system in Russian-occupied parts of Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) also reported that its naval drone successfully attacked the third shadow fleet tanker, the Avero, in the Black Sea.

"The Avero tanker was involved in transporting Russian crude oil during the oil embargo imposed by the G7 and EU countries. The vessel namely exported oil to China and India," the agency said.

Russia uses tankers to transport oil and petroleum products and fuel for its army, while the floating cranes load and unload cargo at the ports, supporting Moscow's military maritime logistics, according to the General Staff.

In the same Facebook post, the General Staff said it also struck a road bridge east of occupied Pokrovsk in eastern Donetsk Oblast, used by Russian troops to keep up their offensive in the sector.

Robert "Madyar" Brovdi, commander of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces, further reported strikes against a shadow fleet cargo vessel and 13 electrical infrastructure sites in Crimea and other occupied territories.

The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify the reported attacks and the extent of their damage. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed to have downed 140 Ukrainian drones across Russia and occupied Crimea, as well as over the Black Sea and Azov Sea, overnight on July 19.

Monitoring channels previously reported Ukrainian strikes against an oil depot in Russia's Stavropol Krai, as well as targets in occupied Crimea and Luhansk Oblast, overnight on July 19.

Authorities in Stavropol Krai — a region in southwestern Russia — confirmed Ukrainian drone strikes overnight and reported fires in industrial areas in the north of Stavropol and its outskirts.

The city of Stavropol lies over 500 kilometers (over 300 miles) from the front lines in Ukraine.

"Due to fires at industrial facilities, flammable materials are detonating —  the sound is audible in Stavropol," Stavropol Krai Governor Vladimir Vladimirov said on his Telegram channel, reporting no casualties.

The reported overnight attacks come as Ukraine ramps up its long-range drone attacks across Russian-occupied territories and deep inside Russia, in an attempt to slowly grind down Russia's war machine from afar. It is difficult to independently assess the effect that these strikes are having on the Russian army's combat operations on the battlefield.

Over July, Ukraine launched an intense operation against Russia's shadow fleet on the Black Sea and Azov Sea, hitting dozens of them to criple logistics in and out of occupied Crimea as the fuel crisis worsens in the peninsula.