Ukraine hits Russian drone plant
- Ukraine struck a Russian drone factory while Russian attacks in recent days killed at least two people in Ukraine. - President Zelensky condemned a U.S. extension of a Russian sanctions waiver and said a 'shadow fleet' includes over 110 tankers. - He said those tankers carry roughly $10 billion in crude, and complained Patriot missile shortages are 'worse than ever' ( ).
Ukraine said it struck a Russian factory that makes attack drones, even as Russian strikes kept hitting Ukrainian cities over the weekend. (apnews.com) The Associated Press reported the strike as Russia continued launching large drone barrages at Ukraine, and The Independent said one Russian attack killed a 16-year-old in Chernihiv on April 20. (apnews.com) (independent.co.uk) President Volodymyr Zelensky also used the moment to attack a U.S. sanctions decision. Kyiv Post reported that he criticized Washington for extending a waiver tied to Russian energy trade and said more than 110 “shadow fleet” tankers were still moving Russian oil. (kyivpost.com) Zelensky said those tankers were carrying about $10 billion worth of crude. He argued that easing pressure on Russian oil exports helps finance Moscow’s war as fighting enters its fifth year. (kyivpost.com) (independent.co.uk) A shadow fleet is the loose network of older tankers, shell owners and opaque insurers Russia uses to move oil outside Western restrictions. The Associated Press, in a report republished by The Independent on March 26, said European governments were already moving to tighten enforcement against those ships. (independent.co.uk) The military problem for Ukraine is immediate as well as financial. Zelensky told German broadcaster ZDF that shortages of Patriot air-defense missiles were now “worse than ever,” according to Kyiv Post’s April 15 report. (kyivpost.com) Patriot batteries are the U.S.-made systems Ukraine relies on to shoot down ballistic missiles and some of Russia’s hardest-to-stop air attacks. Zelensky said global crises, including the conflict involving Iran, were pulling U.S. attention and weapons supplies away from Ukraine. (kyivpost.com) Russia says its strikes target military and industrial sites, while Ukraine says Moscow’s drone and missile attacks are killing civilians and damaging homes, power systems and other infrastructure. Both sides have expanded long-range drone warfare far beyond the front line since 2023. (apnews.com) (bbc.com) The immediate test is whether Ukraine can keep hitting the factories that build Russian drones while still finding enough interceptors to protect cities from the drones already in the air. (apnews.com) (kyivpost.com)
