We have to recognise that we are not the priority for today
In the long contest between a nation defending its existence and one funding conquest through fossil wealth, Ukraine has chosen to strike at the economic sinew of Russian power — its oil terminals and refineries — while its president travels the Middle East seeking allies in a world whose attention is fragmenting. The campaign reflects a hard strategic logic: if war is sustained by revenue, then revenue must become a battlefield. Zelenskyy's warning that an American entanglement with Iran could leave Ukraine without the air defences it needs speaks to a deeper truth about how the fates of distant conflicts are quietly braided together.
- Ukrainian drones struck Russian oil terminals at Novorossiysk and Primorsk in a deliberate two-week escalation designed to drain the Kremlin's war revenues at their source.
- A cargo ship sank in the Sea of Azov, one crew member died and two vanished, and a person was killed in Belgorod — the human cost scattered across a single weekend of intensified strikes.
- Russian military bloggers sounded the alarm not over the fires themselves but over what comes after: sanctions-hampered repairs, failing air defences, and an export capacity that may take months to restore.
- Zelenskyy warned openly that Ukraine is no longer America's strategic priority, and that a prolonged US-Iran conflict would further shrink the flow of Patriot missiles Kyiv urgently needs.
- Touring Damascus and Istanbul, Zelenskyy reframed Ukraine's war as a global stakes contest — offering drone expertise and maritime security partnerships to Gulf states in exchange for anti-ballistic missiles and renewed relevance.
Over a single night, Ukrainian drones set fire to the Sheskharis oil terminal at Novorossiysk on the Black Sea, one strike among several that marked a deliberate two-week intensification of attacks on Russian petroleum infrastructure. The Institute for the Study of War documented the pattern: repeated hits on the Baltic port of Primorsk, a third strike there in fourteen days, and a simultaneous assault on a Lukoil refinery near Nizhny Novgorod — roughly a thousand kilometres inland — whose fires appeared on NASA satellite imagery. Russia claimed to have intercepted 148 drones in a single morning, but the damage to export infrastructure had already been done.
The human toll was real if dispersed. One person died in Belgorod. In the Sea of Azov, a wheat cargo ship sank after a reported drone attack; one crew member was killed and two went missing, with survivors only reaching shore days later. Ukraine denied targeting merchant vessels without military justification.
What unsettled Russian military bloggers most was not the destruction itself but the slow reckoning that follows — repairs made costly and sluggish by Western sanctions, spare parts unavailable, air defences repeatedly exposed as inadequate. The strikes were aimed at something precise: the oil revenues sustaining Moscow's ability to fight.
While the drones flew, Zelenskyy was in the Middle East. He met Syria's president in Damascus and spoke to journalists in Istanbul, where he gave voice to a fear that had grown urgent: a prolonged US conflict with Iran could pull American attention and resources away from Ukraine at the moment Kyiv needed Patriot air defence systems most. Deliveries were already falling. 'We have to recognise that we are not the priority for today,' he told the Associated Press.
Yet Zelenskyy also read opportunity in the disorder. Russia was quietly benefiting from the Iran crisis — from eased sanctions on its oil and from the price surge triggered by Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Ukraine's response was to keep striking the infrastructure those revenues depended on. In his Gulf talks, Zelenskyy offered drone technology and maritime expertise in exchange for anti-ballistic missiles, and positioned Ukraine as a partner in reopening global shipping lanes — framing its war not as a regional struggle but as a fight with consequences for the entire world's commerce and stability.
Over the course of a single night, Ukrainian drones struck the Sheskharis oil terminal at Novorossiysk on the Black Sea, igniting fires visible in footage circulating online. The attack was one of several reported across Russian territory on Sunday, part of what military analysts now recognize as a deliberate escalation targeting Moscow's ability to fund its war effort through oil exports.
The Institute for the Study of War documented a marked intensification of Ukrainian strikes against Russian petroleum infrastructure over the preceding two weeks, with particular focus on the Baltic Sea port of Primorsk and refineries deep inland. A strike on Primorsk on the night of April 4th marked the third assault on that facility in fourteen days. The same evening, Ukrainian forces hit the Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez refinery near Nizhny Novgorod, roughly a thousand kilometers away, starting fires that appeared on NASA's satellite monitoring system and were acknowledged by regional authorities. Russia's military claimed to have shot down 148 drones over a three-hour period Monday morning, though the damage to critical export infrastructure had already been done.
The human toll was scattered but real. One person died in a drone strike on Belgorod. In the Sea of Azov, a cargo ship carrying wheat sank after what Russian-installed officials said was a Ukrainian drone attack on Friday; one crew member was killed and two went missing, with survivors reaching shore only on Sunday. Ukraine maintains it does not target merchant vessels without military justification.
What concerned Russian military bloggers most was not the immediate destruction but the aftermath. Repairs to damaged oil facilities and lost ships would be slow and expensive, they noted, hampered by Western sanctions that restrict access to replacement parts and by persistent failures of Russian air defences. The damage to export capacity threatened Moscow's ability to sustain its military operations through oil revenues—a vulnerability Ukraine clearly intended to exploit.
Meanwhile, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was traversing the Middle East, seeking to shore up support for Ukraine's own military needs. He met with Syria's president in Damascus on Sunday and spoke to journalists in Istanbul, where he articulated a concern that had begun to preoccupy him: the possibility that a prolonged conflict between the United States and Iran could pull American attention and resources away from Ukraine at a moment when Kyiv desperately needed them. Specifically, Ukraine required more Patriot air defence systems to counter Russia's relentless daily bombardments, and deliveries were already declining.
Zelenskyy was blunt about Ukraine's diminished standing in American strategic calculations. "We have to recognise that we are not the priority for today," he told the Associated Press. A long war with Iran, he warned, would only deepen that marginalization and reduce the military support Ukraine could expect.
Yet Zelenskyy also saw opportunity in the regional turmoil. He noted that Russia was benefiting economically from the Iran crisis—specifically from the limited easing of American sanctions on Russian oil, and more broadly from the surge in global oil prices triggered by Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Those higher prices strengthened Moscow's war chest. Ukraine's answer was to keep striking Russian oil infrastructure, degrading the Kremlin's revenues and its capacity to wage war.
In his talks with Gulf Arab states, Zelenskyy offered Ukraine's own hard-won expertise: drone technology, including interceptor and sea drones that Ukraine had developed with American and European funding. In exchange, he asked for anti-ballistic missiles. He also positioned Ukraine as a potential partner in safeguarding global maritime commerce, offering to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz by drawing on its experience securing shipping corridors in the Black Sea. It was a pitch that framed Ukraine's struggle not as a regional conflict but as part of a larger contest over global trade and stability.
Citações Notáveis
Russia gets additional money because of this, so yes, they have benefits— Zelenskyy, on how Iran conflict economically benefits Moscow
Repairs will be costly and time-consuming due to parts sanctions and air defence failures— Russian military bloggers, cited by Institute for the Study of War
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why is Zelenskyy touring the Middle East right now, when the war is still being fought on Ukrainian soil?
Because he's watching American attention shift. The Iran crisis is consuming resources and political capital that might otherwise flow to Ukraine. He needs to convince Gulf states that helping Ukraine is also in their interest—that Ukraine can be a partner in regional security.
But what does Ukraine actually have to offer countries like Saudi Arabia or the UAE?
Technology, mainly. Drone expertise that Ukraine has developed under fire. And something less tangible but valuable: a proven track record of defending maritime corridors. If the Strait of Hormuz stays closed, global trade suffers. Ukraine has learned how to keep shipping moving despite constant attack.
The strikes on Russian oil terminals—are those working? Is Russia actually running out of fuel for the war?
Not yet. But the damage is real and it's accumulating. What matters is that repairs are slow because of sanctions. Russia can't easily replace parts or ships. Every facility hit is one less barrel exported, one less dollar for ammunition and weapons.
Russian bloggers are complaining about repair costs. Does that mean the strategy is working?
It means Ukraine is hitting something that matters. When the people closest to the Russian military apparatus start publicly worrying about logistics and replacement capacity, you know the pressure is real. It's not winning the war, but it's making the war more expensive to sustain.
What happens if the US gets bogged down in Iran?
Ukraine loses leverage. Military aid slows. Zelenskyy is essentially saying: don't forget about us while you're dealing with the Middle East. But he's also trying to make himself useful to the region, so they have a reason to care about Ukraine's survival.