Ukraine strikes Russian Kalibr missile carrier, patrol boat in Leningrad Oblast, Zelensky says

Prefer on Google by Kateryna Denisova Karakurt-class corvette "Sovetsk" arrives to the Navy Day Parade on July 28, 2019 in Central Saint Petersburg, Russia. (Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images) Ukrainian forces targeted a Russian Karakurt-class missile ship, a patrol boat, and a shadow fleet tanker in the port of Primorsk in Leningrad Oblast, acting head of Ukraine's Security Service Yevhen Khmara told the president on May 3. "Significant damage has also been caused to the infrastructure of the oil-loading port," said President Volodymyr Zelensky. A Karakurt-class missile ship is armed with various weapons, including Kalibr missiles. The news comes after Ukraine struck two other Russian vessels belonging to Russia's shadow fleet near Novorossiysk, a Black Sea port, in an operation reported earlier in the day by the president. "Every such result of ours limits Russia's war potential," Zelensky said. The Kyiv Independent couldn't independently verify the reports. The president said he had coordinated further "just responses" to Russian strikes on Ukraine with the country's security services, warning that "prolonging the war will only scale up our defensive operations." Ukraine has intensified its attack on oil infrastructure in Leningrad Oblast, primarily targeting oil terminals in the port cities of Ust-Luga and Primorsk. While Leningrad Oblast is located over 1,000 kilometers north of Ukraine's border, its location in western Russia and proximity to the Baltic Sea make it a prime target for Ukrainian attacks. Kyiv's broad development of its long-range striking capability in recent years has further exposed the region's vulnerabilities.