Kyiv Targets Cross-Border Enemies while Russia Gains Ground in Kharkiv

Ukrainian drones have set an oil refinery ablaze in Russia’s Black Sea city of Tuapse and killed two people in the western Belgorod region, as reported by Russia’s Ministry of Defence.

“Air defenses downed more than 100 Ukrainian drones last night, with the majority destroyed over the southern Krasnodar region and Crimea,” stated the Russian defense ministry on May 17.

Russia effectively annexed Crimea in 2014 and now considers the strategic Black Sea peninsula as Russian Federation territory.

“The attacks caused a fire at the Tuapse oil refinery, while drone fragments damaged an electric power substation in [Crimean port city] Sevastopol,” added the defense ministry.

The defense ministry also claimed that at least six Ukrainian seaborne attack drones had been destroyed by Russian naval forces operating in the Black Sea.

Capable of processing 240,000 barrels of oil per day, Russia’s Tuapse refinery was severely damaged in January, presumably due to a Ukrainian drone attack.

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Since the beginning of the year, Ukraine has intensified attacks on oil refineries inside Russian territory, resulting in varying degrees of damage.

According to Kyiv, Russian oil refineries contribute to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine—now in its third year—and should be considered legitimate targets.

“Fewer and fewer of these types of Russian energy infrastructure are safe from potential strikes,” remarked the official to Reuters.

On May 17, Maxar, a U.S. commercial satellite firm, reported that a recent Ukrainian missile strike had destroyed three warplanes at Russia’s Belbek airbase in Crimea.

Citing recently captured satellite imagery, the company claimed that the long-range strike had destroyed two MiG-31s and a Su-27 fighter jet.

Kyiv has not officially claimed responsibility for the missile strike, and Moscow has not confirmed the reported damage to the airbase or its aircraft.

However, on May 15, Russia’s defense ministry announced that its forces had intercepted ten U.S.-supplied long-range ATACMS missiles fired at Crimea from Ukraine.

The following day, the ministry reported a second long-range attack—involving at least five ATACMS missiles—on Russian military targets in Crimea.

During the early hours of May 17, Ukraine’s Belgorod region, sharing a border with northeastern Ukraine, was reportedly attacked by Ukrainian drones.

According to Belgorod’s Moscow-appointed governor, two local residents—a woman and a young child—were killed in that assault.

Kharkiv ‘Buffer Zone’

Kyiv’s drone and missile attacks coincide with a heightened Russian offensive in Kharkiv, where Moscow claims to have captured a dozen frontline positions in recent days.

On May 15, Kyiv admitted that its forces deployed near the town of Kupiansk, a key rail junction in eastern Kharkiv, had been forced to retreat to more advantageous positions.

The next day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Kharkiv, the capital of the region, in an effort to boost morale.

“The direction of [Kharkiv] remains extremely challenging,” he said following a meeting with military commanders. “We are strengthening our units.”

Shortly after Moscow’s initial invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, Russian forces seized broad swathes of eastern Kharkiv, including Kupiansk.

They withdrew several months later, leaving Ukrainian forces in control of the region except for small pockets east of the Oskil River.

Last week, Russian troops returned to Kharkiv with force, effectively opening a new front in Ukraine’s northeast.

Notably, Kharkiv shares a long border with Russia’s western Belgorod region.

In recent months, Ukraine has conducted nearly daily drone and artillery attacks—from Kharkiv—on residential areas of Belgorod, prompting dire warnings from Moscow.

Earlier this week, a Ukrainian artillery shell, presumably fired from Kharkiv, resulted in the deaths of 17 individuals in Belgorod, according to local officials.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that the purpose of the Kharkiv offensive is to establish a “buffer zone” between the two warring countries.

“Ukraine is to blame for [Russia’s offensive] because it has continued to target residential areas of the border territories, including Belgorod,” he informed reporters on May 17.

“I have previously mentioned that if this continues, we will need to establish a buffer zone,” Mr. Putin added. “That’s exactly what we are doing.”

Pleading for Patriots

Kharkiv also remains a target for regular Russian missile and artillery attacks.

On May 17, the mayor of Kharkiv city in Ukraine reported that two people were killed and a dozen more injured in a Russian missile strike.

During a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Kyiv this week, Mr. Zelenskyy requested two U.S.-made Patriot missile batteries for deployment in Kharkiv.

The request was reiterated by the Ukrainian leader during his recent visit to Kharkiv city.

According to Roman Shkurlatov, a Russian military expert and retired lieutenant colonel, the provided Patriot batteries from the U.S. will not be sufficient to stop the Russian advance.

“Now the Ukrainians are issuing warnings about the potential fall of Kharkiv,” he told Russia’s TASS news agency on May 16.

Mr. Shkurlatov added, “But two more Patriot systems won’t be enough to save it.”

Reuters included in this report.