Fires at Russia’s Novorossiysk port on the Black Sea following Ukrainian strikes, April 6, 2026

EA-Ukraine VideoCast: Can Kyiv Cripple Russia’s Oil Exports?

Monday’s Coverage: Russia Murders 3, Including Mother and Child, in Odesa

UPDATE 0921 GMT:

Three civilians were murdered and 12 wounded by a Russian drone strike on a minibus in the center of Nikopol in south-central Ukraine on Monday.

The minibus was pulling up to a stop when it was hit.

“This was not a random strike. It was deliberate terror against civilians — against people who were simply doing their business,” said Oleksandr Ganzha, head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine is tightening its grip on Russia’s oil exports with further attacks on ports and terminals.

Early Monday the Ukrainians struck the port of Novorossiysk on the Black Sea in southwest Russia, hitting the Sheskharis oil terminal.

A Ukrainian official said six of the terminal’s seven oil-loading stands were damaged. Other key infrastructure was struck, including the pipeline control unit and the oil metering station.

Large fires were set throughout the complex, and the full extent of the damage is being assessed by the Ukrainian military.

Novorossiysk and the Baltic Sea ports of Ust-Luga and Primorsk — both of whom have suspended operations since Ukrainian attacks in late March — handle 75% of Russia’s maritime oil exports.

Ukraine again struck Ust-Luga, in the Leningrad region, early Tuesday. Videos and photos on social media showed fires, as residents reported explosions around 5 a.m.

The strikes have hindered Russia’s benefits from the US-Israel War on Iran, with a surge in global oil prices and the US waiving sanctions on Moscow’s maritime oil shipments.

Last month Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak suspended exports of gasoline.

Zelensky Offers An Easter Ceasefire

In his nightly address to the nation, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said:

Currently, the oil market is in a fragile state due to the unresolved situation around Iran. Oil-producing countries, including Russia, may now earn more. Our drones and missiles are limiting Russia’s ability to do so….

Everything Russia earns from elevated oil prices will be spent on this war. That is why every restriction on Russia’s ability to export oil is the right step.

Zelensky repeated his offer of a ceasefire for Easter, which is celebrated on April 11 in Ukraine and Russia.

“If Russia is ready to stop strikes on our energy infrastructure, we will be ready to respond in kind. This proposal has been conveyed to the Russian side through the Americans,” he explained.

However, he added, “We have repeatedly proposed to Russia a ceasefire, at least for Easter. But for them, all times are the same. Nothing is sacred.”