Claimed image of fires at the Marine Oil Terminal in Russian-occupied Crimea following a Ukrainian missile strike, October 7, 2024

Sunday’s Coverage: Did Kyiv’s Missile Strike Kill North Koreans on Russian Base?

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 1853 GMT:

Ukraine military intelligence claims it has knocked the Russian Baltic Fleet minesweeper Alexander Obukhov out of service.

The ship was based in the Russian coastal town of Baltiysk in the Kaliningrad enclave between Lithuania and Poland. It reportedly suffered severe damage after water leaked into the engine due to “the mysterious appearance of a hole in a gas duct”, the Ukrainian agency HUR said.

The sabotage would be the second of a Russian warship in Kaliningrad.

HUR said the Alexander Obukhisov undergoing major repairs of the damaged M-503 engine, a rare piece of equipment. Efforts to fix the vessel are likely to be “technically difficult and expensive”, HUR said.

UPDATE 1644 GMT:

At least 20 people, including children aged 3 and 5, have been injured by a Russian airstrike on Kherson city in southern Ukraine.

Russia attacked around 10:40 a.m. with four KAB bombs. At least six multi-story buildings were damaged by blast waves.

UPDATE 1632 GMT:

A civilian cargo ship has been damaged in an overnight Russian attack on the Odesa region in southern Ukraine.

The Paresa, flying the flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis, was damaged at the port of Pivdennyi. The vessel is loaded with about 6,000 tons of Ukrainian corn intended for export.

No casualties were reported among the 15 people on board, including Egyptian and Syrian citizens.

Russia blocked Ukraine’s Black Sea ports from the start of Vladimir Putin’s 31-month invasion. However, Ukrainian forces broke the blockade as they damaged 1/3 of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.

A trade route has been established in the western Mediterranean. Russia first disrupted it on September 12, striking a cargo ship carrying Ukrainian wheat to Egypt and sailing through Romania’s exclusive economic zone.

Despite the Russian attacks, Ukraine has exported over 73 million metric tons of goods to African, Asian and European countries in more than a year of operations.

UPDATE 1615 GMT:

US citizen Stephen Hubbard, 72, has been sentenced by a Russian court to 6 years and 10 months in prison.

Hubbard, a native of Michigan, was convicted in a closed-door trial of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine. He pleaded guilty to the charge, according to Russian State media.

Prosecutors said Hubbard was paid $1,000 per month to serve in a Ukrainian territorial defence unit in Izyum, where he had been living since 2014, in the east of the country. They claimed he was provided with training, weapons, and ammunition when he signed up in February 2022 on the eve of Moscow’s invasion.

The American was seized by Russian soldiers on April 2, 2022.

In court, Hubbard sat in a glass courtroom cage in handcuffs. His head shaved, he stood up with difficulty to hear the judge in the Moscow city court pronounce him guilty.

Hubbard had spent decades abroad teaching English, including in Japan and Cyprus, before living in Ukraine.

UPDATE 0633 GMT:

Visiting Kyiv on Sunday, Netherlands Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans announced a €400 million investment in advanced drone development and the delivery of more F-16s in coming months.

The investment is for “both surveillance drones, more defensive drones but also the attack drones, because we see that Ukraine needs those more offensive drones also to target military facilities,” Brekelmans said.

Brekelmans said the Dutch had struggled to source some parts, but Ukraine is already using one Netherlands-supplied Patriot air defense system and “three launchers are going to be delivered very soon”.

The Netherlands has pledged €10 billion in military support and disbursed around €4 billion during Russia’s 31 1/2-month invasion.

In Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv, which has been regularly attacked by Russian glide bombs, Brekelmans said striking military targets in Russia is necessary for defense.

UPDATE 0621 GMT:

Russian rights activist and former political prisoner Ildar Dadin has been killed on the frontline fighting for Ukraine.

“It is with deep regret that I must inform you that Ildar Dadin – call sign Gandhi – died yesterday in combat in the Kharkiv region,” posted his friend and former Russian MP Ilya Ponomarev.

Dadin was the first Russian citizen to be convicted under a 2014 law clamping down on protests in the country.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: A Ukraine missile strike set afire the largest oil depot in Russia-occupied Crimea early Monday.

The Ukraine General Strike confirmed the attack on the Marine Oil Terminal depot in Feodosia on the Black Sea coast. Residents heard several powerful explosions around 4:30 a.m., shortly before the fire started.

“There’s a fire at the Feodosia oil depot. Emergency services are on the scene. No casualties or injuries have been reported,” posted Oleg Kryuchkov, advisor to the Russian-proxy head of Crimea. A state of “technical” emergency has been introduced.

The Baza Telegram news channel, linked to Russia’s security services, reported that several fuel tanks are on fire.

Ukrainian strikes have recurrently targeted oil depots in Crimea, as well as air and naval bases, Russia military headquarters, and supply and logistic positions. The Marine Oil Terminal was attacked by four drones in March 2024, damaging the main fuel pipeline and causing a fire.

The only terminal comparable to the Marine Oil site in the handling of oil products is located in Sevastopol.

The facility “was used, in particular, to supply the Russian occupation army”, the General Staff noted.

Unconfirmed claims on a pro-Ukraine Crimean Telegram channel say airfields in Belbek and Saky were also attacked overnight.