Ukraine Damages Russian Corvette in Drydock in Kronstadt
Ukraine's strike on St. Petersburg on Wednesday morning damaged a tank farm in the main harbor, a dramatic demonstration of its drone forces' reach and an inconvenience for the city's marquee economic conference. In addition to the attention-grabbing attack near the city's center, Ukrainian drones also targeted a dockyard on the island of Kronstadt, the historical cradle of the Russian Navy, and damaged a Russian corfvette undergoing repairs.
Ukraine Unmanned Systems Forces commander Robert "Magyar" Brovdi shared a video of the multi-drone strike on Wednesday. According to Brovdi, USF drones hit the warship Boikiy, a well-known fixture of the Baltic Fleet's North Sea and English Channel escort system for the Russian "shadow fleet" and the "Syrian Express."
"[Boikiy] has a fascinating history of journeys and adventures along NATO's borders. It accompanied the shadow oil fleet – a real workhorse," Magyar said.
The corvette was hit during a yard period, a particularly vulnerable time for a warship, defense analysts noted. In drydock, hatches are often blocked open for work and flammable materials may be present (as seen during the devastating fire aboard USS Bonhomme Richard), and response access can be hampered by cables, scaffolding and equipment on board.
Footage obtained by merchant sailors in the Gulf of Finland suggests that at least some of the drones for the St. Petersburg strikes arrived over water, from the west.
Magyar's video release of the Kronstadt mission shows that the first drone approached off the corvette's port quarter and targeted the area of the mainmast, just aft of the wheelhouse. Footage recorded by a second inbound drone showed the Boikiy's upper deck level ablaze and burning vigorously. It is unclear from the footage if the second drone made it to its target.
The area hit appears to align with the location of Boikiy's air and surface search radar, a phased-array radar derived from Russia's Pantsir air defense system. It is among the warship's most important electronic systems, and replacement components are in high demand for ground-based air defense.
2013-built Boikiy is one of nine operational Steregushchy-class corvettes, mainstays of the Baltic Fleet's patrol operations. She is the only vessel of the class to suffer damage in the war to date. Three more vessels of the class are under construction,
In announcing the strike, Magyar drew a parallel between Wednesday's attack and Soviet naval history: the Kronstadt sailor's uprising of 1921, an early (if unsuccessful) protest against Communist rule. Russian sailors on Kronstadt rebelled against their Bolshevik officers and demanded free elections and freedom of speech - for Magyar, a precedent for Ukraine's resistance to Russian rule.
"Metaphorical, perhaps. Symbolic, certainly – a slap across the face of a dictatorship," he wrote.
A sea drone exploded Friday near Romania's Black Sea port of Constanta without causing casualties. The incident prompted authorities to evacuate more than 1,000 people amid heightening concerns over the spillover effects of Russia's war in Ukraine just a week after a separate drone incident injured two civilians.
Issued on: 05/06/2026 -
By: FRANCE 24
A sea drone exploded early Friday in Romania's Black Sea port of Constanta without causing casualties, officials said, a week after an aerial drone injured two when it crashed into an apartment building in the country.
The EU and NATO nation has reported dozens of airspace breaches since the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022, blaming Russia for them, and asked the alliance to bolster air defences.
The sea drone was "of the type used in the war in Ukraine" and not part of the Romanian military's inventory, the defence ministry said in a press release, adding the drone "self-destructed around 10:30am local time (0730 GMT) without causing any casualties".
Romanian President Nicusor Dan had earlier said on X that the "significant security incident" represents "the direct consequences of the war of aggression launched by Russia against Ukraine," which requires "a high level of vigilance".
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, also said the incident was a direct consequence or Russia's war against Ukraine.
"It is increasingly becoming a direct threat to countries on our Eastern border," she wrote on X.
Russia said the sea drone was Ukrainian.
"These are Ukrainian unmanned maritime vehicles... Attempts to link these drones, directly or indirectly, to Russia and to attribute responsibility for the incident to Russia are completely unfounded," the Russian embassy in Bucharest said on Telegram.
NATO monitoring
NATO stated that the alliance was monitoring the situation after being informed by Romania on the incident.
"We continue to closely coordinate with the Romanian authorities," a NATO official said.
Romanian authorities evacuated the coastal area – more than 1,000 people – and sent two helicopters to scan the area for any other possible devices.
Inhabitants and tourists received phone alerts to avoid the coastal area within a 1-kilometre (0.6-mile) radius.
"Our measures at this time are purely preventive," Raed Arafat, head of the Department of Emergency Situations said in a press conference.
"What's important is that there was information that this drone was going to explode," so everyone was safe, President Dan told reporters while in Montenegro for the EU-Western Balkans summit.
Romania says Russian drone targeting Ukraine crashes in apartment, killing two
01:54
On May 29, a drone exploded on the roof of an apartment building in the city of Galati, close to the border with Ukraine, injuring a mother and her adolescent son, the most serious such incident after the start of the war in Ukraine.
President Dan said that Bucharest had confirmed the drone in the Galati strike was Geran-2, saying it was "of Russian origin".
Earlier this week a sea drone was found on a beach on the Black Sea coast.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
Russia Admits Oil Output Is Falling as Ukrainian Drone Strikes Hits Refineries
Russia's crude oil production has declined since the beginning of the year as a number of local refineries are under unscheduled repairs and maintenance, Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Thursday, in the first public acknowledgement from Moscow that its output is flailing.
“Currently, Russia’s oil production is indeed lower compared to the beginning of 2026,” Novak told reporters on the sidelines of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum.
“We have a number of refineries under unscheduled repairs. However, we are maximizing the use of the export infrastructure,” said Novak, who represents Russia at the OPEC+ meetings and at discussions about the alliance’s output.
Novak’s words appear to be the first public admission from Russia that intensified Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refineries are reducing local domestic refining production.
As a result, Russia has moved to boost its exports of crude, but Ukraine has been targeting the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea export terminals, too.
Earlier this week, Russia banned exports of jet fuel through November 30, 2026, as it looks to ensure domestic supply amid intensifying Ukrainian drone attacks on the Russian refining infrastructure.
The ban is not expected to be felt on the tight international jet fuel market as Russia is a small exporter of aviation fuels.
But the ban on kerosene exports follows a ban on gasoline exports, in force since April 1, as Russia has seen its refining capacity and capability crippled in recent weeks by intensifying drone attacks from Ukraine.
Kyiv has targeted several major refiners and oil export terminals since the war in Iran began, aiming to cripple Russia’s ability to take advantage of the soaring international oil and fuel prices.
Last month, Ukraine targeted the 300,000-barrels per day Yaroslavl oil refinery in Russia, escalating the drone attacks on Russian refining and oil exporting assets, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
“We are bringing the war back home – to Russia – and that’s only fair,” Zelenskyy said in May.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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