Ukraine's navy on Thursday said that it had destroyed six Russian Su-34M military aircraft in an overnight strike on the Borisoglebsk airfield in Russia’s Voronezh region, as attacks on energy infrastructure and shipping continued on both sides, news agency Reuters reported.The navy said it used its Neptune coastal missile system in the attack, according to a statement posted on Telegram.Earlier in the day, a Ukrainian drone attack on Russia’s Ryazan region triggered a fire at an oil refinery, regional governor Pavel Malkov said. The damage was being assessed, and emergency services were working at the site."The material damage is now being assessed. Emergency services are working at the scene," Malkov said in a post on Telegram.
A warehouse elsewhere in the region was also damaged, he added, without providing further details.The Ryazan refinery, owned by Russian oil major Rosneft, supplies fuel to Moscow and accounts for almost 5% of Russia’s total oil-refining capacity. The facility has been targeted in several drone attacks in recent months.Malkov said earlier that classes at schools and kindergartens in two districts had been cancelled because of mass drone attacks.
The strike was the first reported Ukrainian attack on a Russian energy facility since US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an energy ceasefire. Neither side confirmed the truce.2 tanker catches fire, 8 crew missingMeanwhile, rescuers were searching on Thursday for eight missing crew members from one of two chemical tankers that caught fire overnight in Romanian territorial waters in the Black Sea.
The incidents came after Russian drones entered Romanian airspace, Romanian officials said.Officials stopped short of explicitly linking the fires to the drones. However, the incidents follow drone strikes on at least five other cargo ships near the coasts of Romania and neighbouring NATO member Bulgaria over the previous 10 days. At least 23 sailors were reported missing or killed in those strikes, which took place just outside NATO’s territorial waters.The two tankers that caught fire overnight were anchored near the mouth of the Sulina Canal, which connects the Danube River to the Black Sea. The route is an important shipping corridor for Ukraine as Russia continues to target its Black Sea ports.Romania’s naval authority said it received an emergency alert from the San Marino-flagged tanker Wine Trader. Eight of its 12 crew members were missing, while four were safe.The Comoros-flagged chemical and oil tanker Yara J also caught fire earlier. Romanian authorities initially said it was unclear whether the vessel had been attacked. All its crew members were safe. Both vessels were anchored near the mouth of the Sulina Canal, where ships often wait to pass through because of weather-related delays and congestion.Attacks threaten shipping routesRomania shares a 614-km (381-mile) border with Ukraine, much of it along the Danube River.
It has reported repeated incursions by Russian drones into its airspace over the past four years.The intensifying attacks on Black Sea shipping linked to the war have raised concerns about disruptions to global food supplies, as Russia and Ukraine are major grain exporters.Russian strikes on Ukraine’s Black Sea ports have pushed Kyiv to rely increasingly on Danube River ports and shipping routes near the Romanian and Bulgarian coasts. Ukraine, in turn, has targeted Russian ships near the mouth of the Don River in the Sea of Azov.