Ukrainian military says it attacked Russian airport, oil depot

The Ukrainian military said on Saturday it had attacked Russia’s Morozovsk airport overnight, as well as a number of oil depots and fuel storage facilities in three Russian regions.

The military said the attack on the airport hit an ammunition depot where Russian troops stored guided air bombs and other equipment.

“Russian combat aviation must be destroyed by all effective means wherever it is located,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on the Telegram messaging app. “Attacks on Russian airfields are also fair game. We need to work out a solution together with our partners – a safe solution.”

Ukraine’s president has repeatedly called on Western allies to allow him to use weapons to carry out long-range attacks on Russia, in addition to striking military targets near the border.

He said on Saturday that Russian forces had used more than 600 guided air bombs against Ukraine over the past week.

According to the Ukrainian military, oil depots and fuel and lubricant storage facilities in the Belgorod, Kursk and Rostov regions were attacked, and at least two oil tanks caught fire.

In Russia, local officials reported that tanks at a fuel storage facility in the Kamensky district of Rostov Oblast caught fire as a result of a drone attack.

The governor of Belgorod Oblast also said that a drone launched by Ukraine caused a fire at a local oil storage depot, adding that the fire had been put out and there were no casualties.

Ukraine has significantly stepped up its use of long-range drones to attack Russian oil facilities this year, seeking to disrupt fuel supplies to Russian forces and the country’s economy during its 29-month invasion.