Ukraine Drone Strike Hits Black Sea Oil Warehouse As Russia Claims 12 Villages

Last Updated:February 15, 2026, 16:32 IST

Russia claims it captured 12 villages in Donetsk as fighting intensifie while Ukraine strikes Taman port before the US-mediated Geneva peace talks.

Russia’s army chief Valery Gerasimov, has claimed that Kremlin forces captured 12 villages in eastern Ukraine in the first half of February, even as fighting intensifies ahead of fresh US-mediated peace talks in Geneva.

According to Russia’s defence ministry, Gerasimov told frontline troops that despite “severe winter conditions", combined forces had advanced in parts of the Donetsk region. The claims could not be independently verified.

Moscow’s push in eastern Ukraine has accelerated since autumn, with Russian troops moving closer to Sloviansk, a strategic industrial hub that briefly fell to pro-Russian separatists in 2014. Russian forces are now reported to be around 15 kilometres from the city.

The Kremlin maintains its demand that Kyiv withdraw from the entire Donetsk region as a condition for ending the war, a position Ukraine has firmly rejected. President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said Russia will secure full control of Donetsk by force if diplomacy fails.

Moreover, Russia has conducted fresh drone strikes on the Ukrainian port city of Odessa on the Black Sea that claimed the life of a woman, as stated by the governor.

Moscow also claims the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions as Russian territory following annexation moves in 2022 that were condemned by Kyiv and its Western allies.

Ukrainian Drone Strike Damages Taman Port

Even as Russian forces press forward on land, Ukraine has stepped up long-range drone attacks inside Russian territory.

Russia’s Black Sea port of Taman, a major hub for oil products, grain, coal and other commodities, was damaged in a Ukrainian drone strike, the governor of the Krasnodar region said Sunday.

Regional governor Veniamin Kondratyev said an oil storage tank, a warehouse and terminal facilities were hit in Volna village, where the port is located. Two people were injured in the attack.

More than 100 emergency workers were deployed to extinguish multiple fires at the site, he added in a post on Telegram.

Separate strikes also targeted the resort city of Sochi and the village of Yurovka near Anapa, though officials described the damage there as less significant.

Industry sources said roughly 4.16 million metric tonnes of oil products were shipped through Taman last year, underlining its importance to Russia’s energy exports.

Ukraine has resumed attacks on Russian energy infrastructure in recent days after a US-brokered moratorium on such strikes expired. Kyiv has previously argued that such operations are aimed at undermining Russia’s military supply chains and war financing.

Energy Infrastructure Under Fire on Both Sides

Throughout the war, Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukrainian energy and utility infrastructure, cutting heating and electricity to hundreds of thousands of civilians during periods of extreme winter cold.

Ukraine’s renewed strikes on Russian oil depots and ports appear to signal a return to tit-for-tat infrastructure attacks as both sides seek leverage ahead of negotiations.

Peace Talks in Focus

The developments come just days before a new round of US-facilitated talks in Geneva aimed at exploring a possible ceasefire framework. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said any agreement must guarantee Ukraine’s sovereignty and security, while Moscow continues to insist on recognition of the territories it claims.

As the war approaches its fourth anniversary on February 24, the battlefield remains fluid with incremental Russian advances in the east, expanding Ukrainian drone operations inside Russia, and diplomacy struggling to bridge wide gaps between the two sides.

News world Ukraine Drone Strike Hits Black Sea Oil Warehouse As Russia Claims 12 Villages

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