Smoke rises above the Tuapse oil refinery in southwest Russia after Ukrainian drone strikes, April 16, 2026

EA-Ukraine VideoCast: Putin Wobbles Amid Stalemate and Ukrainian Counter-Attacks

Thursday’s Coverage: Kyiv Hits Key Russian Oil Facility for 2nd Day in Row

UPDATE 1605 GMT:

At least 12 people have been injured by a daytime Russian drone strike on Ternopil in western Ukraine.

More than 50 UAVs attacked, with 20 explosions recorded. Industrial sites and infrastructure were damaged, and parts of the city were briefly without electricity.

UPDATE 1555 GMT:

Ukraine has struck a Su-57 fighter jet and a Su-34 fighter-bomber on May 1 at a Russian airfield around 1,700 km (1,056 miles) from the border.

The Ukrainian General Staff said the attack was on the Shagol airfield in Chelyabinsk. The extent of damage to the fighter jets is being assessed.

Russia’s Su-57 is a fifth-generation stealth fighter designed for air superiority and precision strikes, while the Su-34 is a twin-seat fighter-bomber used for tactical and long-range bombing missions in Ukraine.

UPDATE 1548 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia has lost at least $7 billion since the start of 2026 due to Ukrainian strikes on oil infrastructure.

He based the calculation on direct hits on facilities, prolonged suspensions of operations, and disruptions to oil shipments.

Zelensky said hailed “a new level” in the campaign in April with expanding scope and effectiveness.

It is important that not only is the target itself reached, as defined by the operational objective, but that the downtime of the target is increased or, at the very least, its operations are significantly reduced.

Ukraine carried out at least 21 strikes on refineries, pipelines, and maritime assets in April, the highest total since December.

The strikes reduced Russia’s average refinery throughput to 4.69 million barrels per day, the lowest level since December 2009.

UPDATE 1053 GMT:

At least one civilian has been murdered and at least 52 injured by Russian attacks across Ukraine overnight.

Air defenses downed 190 of 210 drones launched by Russia, who also fired an Iskander-M ballistic missile.

In the Kherson region in southern Ukraine, a 65-year-old civilian man, was killed by a drone while he was riding a bicycle. Eight other people were injured in attacks that damaged 15 houses, six residential buildings, an administrative building, a post office, a bus, and a vehicle.

Casualties were also reported in the Odesa, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, and Mykolaiv regions.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Escalating its attacks on key Russian facilities, Ukraine has struck the Tuapse oil refinery — one of Russia’s 10 largest — for the fourth time in two weeks.

The Ukrainians hit the refinery in Krasnodar Krai in southwest Russia early Friday. Russian outlets reported that at least two storage tanks were ignited, and the terminal lost power. Electricity and the Internet has also been cut to much of the nearby city.

Krasnodar Krai emergency response headquarters said 128 personnel and 41 pieces of equipment are working to extinguish fires. No injuries are reported.

Ukraine attacked the complex, owned by Russia’s State energy firm Rosneft, on April 16. A second assault on April 20 set fires in fuel storage tanks which burned for four days. The third set of strikes on April 28 relit the blazes, with a state of emergency declared in Krasnodar’s municipal district.

Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry claimed on Wednesday that that emergency services had extinguished the fires. But videos and photos early Monday confirmed the latest attacks on the refinery and marine terminal.

Amid the escalating attacks on refineries, terminals, and ports, Russia’s Government revenues from oil fell 47% in January and February. They recovered in March because of the US-Israel War on Iran, with soaring oil prices and waivers of American sanctions. However, they fell again in April as operations were suspended at some facilities, including the Ust-Luga and Primorsk ports on the Baltic Sea and the Novorossiysk port on the Black Sea.

Ukrainian drones also struck a Russian drone development complex, damaging workshops, in the occupied Zaporizhzhia region in southern Ukraine on Thursday.

The BARS-Sarmat Center, established in 2024, is central to the development of Russian drones, robotic and electronic warefare systems, and command and communications equipment.