Ukraine strikes oil infrastructure at Russia's Makhachkala port amid wider attacks on 8 targets, Zelensky says

Ukraine's Special Operations Forces (SSO) struck oil infrastrucutre at the Makhachkala Sea Commercial Port in Russia's Dagestan Republic overnight on Sept. 10, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

The port, located approximately 750 kilometers (465 miles) from the Russia-Ukraine border on the Caspian Sea, is used to handle and transship energy resources, and a key Russian transport hub linking the country with Iran, India and other parts of South Asia, according to the SSO.

"The strike on the oil component of this transport hub directly affects Russia's ability to use the Caspian Sea for the transport and transshipment of energy resources," the SSO said.

Videos posted to social media earlier in the night purportedly showed several fires burning in Makhachkala amid air raid alerts, with explosions reported near the city's port.

The SSO said the port's oil terminal can service tankers with a capacity of up to 10,000 metric tons. An oil depot is also located immediately adjacent to the port.

The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify the damage.

Makhachkala is Russia's only ice-free deep-water port on the Caspian Sea and operates year-round, according to the SSO.

"The Makhachkala port has strategic importance for the aggressor's logistics," the SSO said, describing it as an important link in the North-South transport corridor.

Zelensky later said Ukrainian forces had struck eight Russian infrastructure facilities over the course of the day, including the Makhachkala port and an oil refinery in Russia's Yamalo-Nenets region.

Other targets were hit in the Moscow, Voronezh, Astrakhan, and Bryansk regions, he said.

"Russia continues its terror against Ukraine every day. And every day it receives a fair response," Zelensky said.

Ukraine regularly strikes military and oil infrastructure deep within Russia and the occupied territories in an effort to diminish Moscow's ability to continue waging its war.

Ukrainian forces last targeted Dagestan on Aug. 24, when an Ozon warehouse was struck and two employees were reportedly injured.

Ukraine also targeted Russian oil infrastructure on Sept. 8, when drones reportedly struck the Saratov Oil Refinery, according to footage shared by local residents and analyzed by monitoring groups.