Ukraine strikes Russian tankers in Black Sea as Russia hits Odesa residential building

The Russian Defence Ministry said on Telegram that overnight strikes using "hochpräzisen luftgestützten Waffen" and "unbemannten Luftfahrzeugen" hit port infrastructure facilities in Odesa and Chornomorsk that, it claimed, had been used to supply the Ukrainian armed forces. The ministry's account could not be independently verified.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on X that two people were killed in Odesa as a result of the overnight Russian missile strike on a residential building. "In Odessa wurden zwei Menschen getötet, als Folge des nächtlichen russischen Raketenangriffs auf ein Wohngebäude," he said. He added that Russia had launched more than 130 drones and eight missiles overnight, and had used 15 glide bombs against the northeastern Sumy region.

In the Russian border region of Bryansk, a 15-year-old girl and her grandmother were killed, according to figures cited in the Deutschlandfunk report. The deaths underscored the continuing toll on civilians on both sides of the border as the war entered its fifth year.

Russian strikes on Odesa and Sumy

The tanker strikes brought the total number of vessels hit in the Black Sea and the connected Sea of Azov since 6 July to 159, according to the figures cited. The campaign has focused on ships that Kyiv says are part of a Russian shadow fleet used to evade the G7 price cap and EU sanctions on Russian energy exports.

Separately, Ukraine's parliament voted 289 to 318 to appoint Serhij Korezkyj as the country's new prime minister, according to the same report. The vote installed the head of the state energy company Naftogaz in the role. Russian authorities also imposed an exit ban on a 63-year-old identified in the report as Boris Nadeschdin, Boris Nadeschdin.

The developments came against a backdrop of intensified aerial exchanges. Zelenskyy's tally of more than 130 drones and eight missiles in a single night was among the highest single-night figures reported since the start of the full-scale invasion. Ukrainian air defences have been stretched by the sustained tempo of Russian strikes, officials in Kyiv have said in recent months.

Casualties and political fallout

Western governments have watched the tanker campaign closely. The shadow fleet, composed of aging tankers with opaque ownership, has become a central conduit for Russian crude since the imposition of the price cap in late 2022. Strikes on individual vessels have raised questions about environmental risk, insurance liability, and the legal basis for attacks on civilian-flagged ships in international waters.

Ukraine has framed the campaign as a legitimate response to Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure and port facilities. Russia has framed the Ukrainian strikes as terrorism against civilian shipping. The competing narratives have made independent verification of damage assessments difficult.

The Odesa strike highlighted the continuing vulnerability of residential areas in Ukraine's major port cities. Chornomorsk, south of Odesa, has been hit repeatedly in recent months, and the city's port infrastructure has been a frequent target. Local authorities in Odesa region have urged residents to heed air-raid warnings and to use designated shelters.

International context and shadow fleet

Analysts noted that the simultaneous escalation on land and at sea pointed to a strategy of mutual pressure as diplomatic efforts to end the war have stalled. With no breakthrough in sight at the negotiating table, both sides appear to be expanding the scope of their operations, raising the risk of further civilian casualties and environmental damage in the Black Sea basin.

The deaths in Bryansk, reported by Russian officials, were a reminder that the war's effects are not confined to the front line. Cross-border strikes into Russian territory have become more frequent in recent months, and civilian deaths on the Russian side, while less frequently reported in Western media, have drawn attention from Russian human-rights monitors.