Ukrainian forces carried out a large-scale series of long-range strikes against Russian oil infrastructure and military assets on the night of April 29, using overloaded Russian air defense systems. This is stated in a new analysis by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), News.bg reports.
According to the report, the attacks were carried out on targets located up to 1,400 kilometers from the international border.
The Security Service of Ukraine reported that the linear production and dispatching station “Transneft Perm“ was hit in the Perm region, and as a result of the strike, fires broke out in almost all oil storage tanks.
Kiev defines the site as a strategic node in the Russian oil pipeline system, which distributes raw materials in four directions, including to the Perm refinery. Published footage shows serious fires in the area.
In parallel, the Ukrainian General Staff announced that the naval forces had hit the sanctioned tanker “Marquis“ in the Black Sea, about 210 kilometers southeast of Tuapse.
The ship, flying the Cameroonian flag, has a carrying capacity of over 37,000 tons and, according to the Ukrainian side, was traveling without cargo, probably in anticipation of oil being transferred to the sea from another vessel.
The commander of the Ukrainian forces for unmanned systems, Major Robert “Magyar“ Brodsky also published geolocated footage that Ukrainian drones reportedly hit two Russian Mi-28 and two Mi-17 helicopters while they were refueling at a site in the Voronezh region, about 150 kilometers from the front.
Additional geolocated evidence suggests that the Orsk oil refinery in the Orenburg region, approximately 1,300 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, was also likely hit.
The ISW notes that in April 2026 alone, at least 18 Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil infrastructure and at least 41 strikes on military assets in 19 Russian regions were documented.
According to the institute, since March, Kiev has been steadily increasing both the range and intensity of its long-range strikes against Russian strategic targets.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on April 29 that as a result of these operations, the port of Primorsk is operating at 13% below capacity. si, Novorossiysk by 38%, and Ust-Luga by 43% below normal load.
The analysis also states that in his telephone conversation with Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin tried to reinforce the thesis that Russia retains the strategic initiative and that Ukrainian defense is weakening, although according to ISW's assessment, Kiev has largely succeeded in slowing down the Russian spring-summer offensive.
The institute believes that the Kremlin is trying to hide the growing economic and military costs of the war by convincing the West to force Ukraine to make concessions that Russia is unable to achieve on the battlefield.
According to ISW, Moscow is also using periodically announced unilateral ceasefires, including the proposed ceasefire for Victory Day, to stockpile drones and missiles for subsequent massive strikes against Ukrainian territory.
The report also notes that the Kremlin used the conversation between Putin and Trump to issue warnings to Washington regarding US-Israeli actions against Iran, with the Russian leader stating that a new resort to force would have “extremely grave consequences” for the entire region and the world.