Ukraine Strikes Russia, Occupied Crimea in Joint Strike

Ukraine struck multiple airfields and oil refineries in Russia’s Krasnodar region and occupied Crimea in the early hours of Wednesday, Feb. 26.

The operation, undertaken by “units of the Unmanned Systems Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine [AFU], the Main Intelligence Directorate [HUR], in cooperation with other components of the Defense Forces,” targeted “strategic facilities of the Russian invaders in the Krasnodar Territory of the Russian Federation and in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukrainian Crimea,” an AFU statement on Wednesday afternoon says.

Kyiv Post’s sources from HUR confirmed the attack in the Krasnodar region, during which the Tuapse Oil Refinery was struck.

“According to intelligence sources, the attack on the facility resulted in at least 40 explosions and a fire, damaging oil refining equipment,” the sources told Kyiv Post, adding that photos from locals of the aftermath confirmed the attack.

The AFU said over 90% of the oil products from the Tuapse Oil Refinery go toward exports, suggesting the attack disrupted Russia’s oil revenue used to fund its invasion of Ukraine.

“The Tuapse Refinery processes oil with a declared capacity of 12 million tons per year. Over 90% of the produced petroleum products are exported. The company is also actively involved in supplying the Russian occupation army… There is information about damage to the plant’s infrastructure,” the AFU statement says.

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The AFU added that in addition to Tuapse, the Saki and Kacha military airfields in occupied Crimea were also attacked, though the results remain unclear.

The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia launched 177 drones across Ukraine the same night, of which 110 were intercepted and 66 failed to reach their targets.

One of the drones struck a residential building in the Kyiv region and killed journalist Tetiana Kulyk from Ukrainian news outlet Ukrinform and her husband, Professor Pavlo Ivanchev, who worked as the head of the Surgery Department at Bogomolets National Medical University.