Ukraine has launched one of its broadest recent drone offensives against Russia’s maritime and energy networks, claiming strikes on 21 vessels in three days as attacks on major refineries deep inside Russia intensified pressure on Moscow’s fuel supplies.

Ukraine’s Growing Capabilities

The wave of attacks offered a striking display of Ukraine’s growing long-range capabilities. On Wednesday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met President Donald Trump at the NATO summit in Ankara, where Trump said the United States would allow Ukraine to manufacture Patriot air-defense interceptors and the two leaders discussed a potential drone agreement.

Zelenskyy made air defense his top priority during the bilateral meeting and said the two governments had also begun working on a separate drone agreement. The timing allowed Zelenskyy to arrive at the summit with evidence that Ukraine’s domestic drone industry can threaten Russian assets far beyond the conventional battlefield.

Russia’s Energy Infrastructure Under Pressure

Ukraine is increasingly forcing Russia to defend refineries, airfields, shipping routes, and other infrastructure far beyond the front. Kyiv has not achieved a comparable breakthrough in the grinding ground campaign, and Russia continues to bombard Ukrainian cities.

Repeated long-range strikes have begun disrupting fuel production and maritime logistics while imposing costs on parts of Russia that were once largely insulated from the fighting. On Tuesday, Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces said nine Russian-linked vessels were struck in the Sea of Azov, bringing the number targeted over 72 hours to 21.

The maritime strikes were accompanied by attacks on the Saratov refinery and energy facilities in the Russian regions of Tatarstan and Bashkortostan. Russian authorities said one person was killed in Saratov. Ukraine also said it struck the Borisoglebsk military airfield in Russia’s Voronezh region.

Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.