The first half of this June witnessed a noticeable escalation in Ukrainian attacks targeting the Russian interior with drones.
Satellite images and a map designed and analyzed by the Al Jazeera Network’s open source unit reveal that about 30 important sites were subjected to direct strikes, in an area extending from the waters of the Gulf of Finland in the north to the shores of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov in the south.
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This wave of attacks focused on paralyzing oil stations and refineries, and targeting vital crossings and bridges deep into Russia.
This expansion of the Ukrainian target bank has narrowed the “safe” spaces for Russian forces, forcing them to constantly search for alternative and more complex supply routes and build alternative crossings under the roar of suicide planes.
Blockade of vital passages
The first type of strikes focused on the land bridges and logistical crossings that the Russian army relies on to transport fuel, ammunition, and personnel to the Crimean Peninsula and the axes of the southern front.
Satellite data between June 4 and 15 reveal that this axis was subjected to extensive pressure, especially at the main Chongar land bridge, which crosses Lake Sivash and is considered one of the most prominent arteries connecting with Crimea.
The bridge was subjected to concentrated strikes on the nights of June 6 and 7, and June 8 and 9, then it was targeted again on the 15 of the same month. The pictures showed significant damage to the concrete surface, which prompted the Russian authorities to restrict movement and divert trucks to temporary floating crossings.
Destruction of logistical alternatives
The strikes were not limited to the main bridge. On June 11, the head of the Moscow-appointed Kherson administration announced that bridges over the Northern Crimean Canal near Priobrazhenka and Mirno had been subjected to direct strikes, coinciding with the bombing of the Perekop/Armyansk road bridge and a bridge near Stavki.
Ukrainian drones also targeted the Hnichesk Bridge leading to the Arabat Strip on June 10 and 15, in an attempt to put pressure on Russian bypass options after the main crossings were damaged.
This pattern shows that the Ukrainian strikes did not just target a single crossing point, but rather sought to go after the network of alternatives that Russian forces use to overcome damage and keep supply lines open.
Isolation of Mariupol and Donetsk
On the night of June 15, strikes extended to the Novoazovsk Bridge over the Herzky Yelanchik River in Donetsk, and to another bridge connecting Mariupol and Berdyansk.
According to available data, the Novoazovsk attack caused the destruction of one of the traffic lanes, impeding the crossing of heavy trucks and forcing them to take detours through more difficult rural corridors.
Thus, the land corridors extending between Mariupol, Donetsk, and Berdyansk became part of the map of Ukrainian pressure on Russian supply routes in the south.
An engineering race against time
The extent of the logistical pressure reflects what was monitored by satellite images of the Russian forces constructing an alternative bridge in just 9 days, between June 5 and 14, in the Henicheska Hirka region of Kherson Governorate, in an attempt to compensate for the paralysis that affected some crossings.
On the ground, Ukrainian military sources attributed the repeated strikes on the Chongar crossings and the Armyansk axis to the “Phalanx” Multi-Domain Operations Center, in cooperation with the 1st Separate Assault Regiment named after Dmytro Kotsyubaylo, and the 475th Assault Regiment “CODE 9.2”.
According to data published by these units and reported by Ukrainian media, Ukrainian FP-2 drones were used in the June 9 strike, which they said put the Chongar Bridge out of service for a long period. Subsequent strikes also targeted floating crossings, a railway bridge, and military trucks, hindering Russian forces’ attempts to restore supply movement through these axes.
Deeper strikes inside Russia
The second type of strikes extended to a wider geographical depth, exceeding the scope of nearby fronts, and directing direct pressure on Russian energy and export facilities.
At a distance of about 1,100 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, satellite images taken on June 3 documented the appearance of a vast black cloud of smoke above the piers and tanks of the St. Petersburg oil terminal located on the Gulf of Finland in the Baltic Sea.
The station manages a passing capacity of up to 12.5 million tons annually, and the explosion coincided with the launch of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, which gave the strike an additional symbolic dimension in addition to its operational impact.
Oil installations under pressure
The attacks also targeted an oil warehouse in Rybinsk, Yaroslavl Province, a Temp warehouse, and a Balkimo pumping station in the Russian Republic of Tatarstan, in addition to the Vtorovo and Lobkovo oil pumping stations in Vladimir Province.
The strikes also extended to a fuel tank in the Millerovo district of Rostov Province, and the Kuibyshev oil station in Samara, during the period between June 9 and 14.
This spread reveals that Ukraine is no longer focusing only on nearby contact points, but rather is targeting energy nodes distributed over a wide area, which confuses the Russian protection system and increases the cost of internal insurance.
Siege of the Sea of Azov
The Krasnodar Krai Territory and the ports surrounding the Sea of Azov represent an important logistical artery for southern Russia and the support axes connected to the Crimean Peninsula, which made it the target of a series of successive strikes and fires.
On June 6, satellite images recorded widespread destruction at the Ust-Labinsk warehouse, and a number of the 28 tanks that make up the site were damaged. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that his country’s drones traveled 500 kilometers to destroy the warehouse in an operation led by the Ukrainian Security Service.
Bio stations and refineries
Satellite images documented successive strikes on the Ilsky refinery, causing severe damage to pipelines. They also targeted the Avibsky oil station and the strategic Tamanevtigaz station, where thick plumes of smoke appeared.
The strikes extended to an oil warehouse linked to the Lukoil company in the town of Stanitsa Poltavsky, in an indication of the expanding scope of targeting within Krasnodar Krai, where oil facilities overlap with supply roads and ports.
Ports and marine warehouses
On the Sea of Azov front, military facilities and warehouses were destroyed in Sevastopol’s Streletska Bay, the port of Temryuk, and the port of Kavkaz.
Satellite images taken on June 6 also documented destruction and burning in supply facilities inside the Moscow-controlled port of Mariupol. The Ukrainian attack, which targeted cargo ships that Kiev said were sailing “illegally,” resulted in the killing of 5 Azerbaijani sailors and the injury of 3 others, according to what the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced.
The targeting of ports and marine warehouses reflects a Ukrainian attempt to weaken the rear support links linking the Russian south to Crimea and to areas under Russian control in Ukraine.
Narrow geography
In the face of this geographical expansion of fires and strikes, Moscow acknowledged that the energy sector was affected, and Alexander Novak, Russian Deputy Prime Minister, said in press statements that Russia’s oil production has recorded a noticeable decline since the beginning of this year, justifying this by “unplanned maintenance work that several refineries are currently undergoing.”
Although Moscow does not usually link these malfunctions directly to Ukrainian strikes, the coincidence of “unplanned maintenance” with a series of attacks on refineries and oil stations reflects the amount of pressure on the Russian energy structure.
Between the map of severed bridges and burning export terminals, the Russian depth is exposed to a more complex spatial reality, as the areas for logistical maneuvering shrink, and ports, back lanes, and energy facilities turn into difficult-to-protect targeting hotspots.
