KEY POINTS
- Ukrainian drones struck Russia’s oil platform in the Caspian Sea.
- The Filanovsky rig is Russia’s largest Caspian oil field.
- Russia claimed it shot down nearly 300 Ukrainian drones overnight.
- President Trump criticised Ukraine and European allies for slow progress on peace talks.
KYIV, Ukraine: Ukrainian drones struck Russia’s Filanovsky oil rig in the Caspian Sea on Thursday, halting production at more than 20 wells, officials said. The attack marks Ukraine’s first strike on Russian offshore oil infrastructure amid US-backed peace push to end the war.
Ukraine’s Security Service source, cited by CNN, said the strike involved at least four long-range drones. “This is Ukraine’s first strike on Russian infrastructure related to oil production in the Caspian Sea,” the official said.
The Filanovsky platform, operated by Lukoil, is the largest oil field in the Russian sector of the Caspian, producing around 120,000 barrels per day. Lukoil did not immediately respond to requests for comment, according to Reuters.
The strike is part of Ukraine’s expanding campaign to disrupt Russian energy infrastructure. Since early 2024, Kyiv has targeted oil refineries, pipelines, tankers, and export terminals.
Ukrainian sanctions commissioner Vladyslav Vlasiuk described the campaign as “long-range sanctions” against Russia’s energy sector.
Largest Ukrainian drone attack
Meanwhile, Ukrainian drones also targeted a chemical plant in Veliky Novgorod, around 160km from St Petersburg, according to BBC verification. The Acron plant, a major mineral fertiliser producer, was reported to have caught fire.
Novgorod Governor Alexander Dronov said air defences intercepted 19 drones. One person was injured, with minor damage to buildings, the Governor said.
Russia claimed it shot down nearly 300 Ukrainian drones overnight, one of the largest attacks since the start of the war in February 2022.
Thirty-two drones were headed towards Moscow, prompting temporary closure of the city’s four airports.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s plane had to divert to Saint Petersburg due to the disruption. Russian air defence authorities said flights later resumed.
Kyiv has increasingly targeted offshore drilling as part of its energy disruption strategy.
ACLED data analysed by CNN indicates Ukraine struck at least 77 Russian energy facilities between August and November, nearly double the number in the first seven months of 2025.
Some refineries, including Rosneft’s Saratov facility, have been hit repeatedly, preventing full recovery.
US-backed peace efforts
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he doesn’t want to waste time in talks to end the war.
His growing frustration appears to be aimed not at the Kremlin, but at Kyiv and its backers in Europe, who Thursday faced a deepening rift with the United States at a decisive moment.
Trump signalled that his patience was running thin. “They would like us to go to a meeting over the weekend in Europe, and we’ll make a determination, depending on what they come back with. We don’t want to be wasting time,” he said.
Trump was speaking at a roundtable with business leaders Wednesday before Europe sent its response to the latest peace plan, focused on the pivotal issue of territorial concessions.
Trump also said he had exchanged “pretty strong words” on Ukraine during a call with European leaders, whom he called “very good friends of mine.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told a news conference Thursday that he, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer had suggested to Trump that they finalize peace proposals together with the US over the weekend.
NATO chief Mark Rutte struck a drastic note Thursday as he urged allies to step up defence efforts. “We are Russia’s next target,” he said, warning of a conflict that could be on “the scale of war our grandparents and great-grandparents endured.”
‘Resolved all misunderstandings’
The Kremlin signalled Thursday it saw itself as increasingly on the same page as Washington.
The two sides had now “resolved all misunderstandings” on Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
“We have reason to believe that the Americans are sincerely interested in this conflict being resolved fairly,” he said, after talks between Trump’s envoys and President Vladimir Putin in Moscow earlier this month.
Lavrov said Russia had submitted additional proposals to the US regarding collective security guarantees, which Ukraine and Europe say are essential to any deal.
Ukrainian officials have submitted proposals to Washington, including frameworks for security guarantees and economic reconstruction.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held talks with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Jared Kushner, and businessman Larry Fink on Ukraine’s recovery.
Security guarantees
Zelenskyy was due to hold virtual talks with the so-called Coalition of the Willing, led by Britain and France.
Zelenskyy said Wednesday the peace plan now consisted of three documents — a “framework document” with 20 points, a document focused on security guarantees and a document dealing with Ukraine’s recovery.
