Lindsey Graham had visited Kyiv and pressed for stronger sanctions on Russian oil in the days before his death. For Ukraine, the loss of an ally with Trump’s ear is a tough blow.

Retired Gen. Philip Breedlove says Ukrainian strikes on energy infrastructure force Putin to divert military assets as fuel shortages spread nationwide.

Ukrainian drones hit a dozen more Russian tankers in the Sea of Azov overnight, Ukraine's military said on Thursday.

Ukraine struck an oil depot in the southern Russian city of Mikhailovsk, Stavropol Krai, overnight on July 13, monitoring channels reported. The Mikhailovskaya oil depot was set ablaze after the site was struck,

It was a dramatic departure from Trump's more acerbic tone toward Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whom he once derided as ungrateful.

Ukraine, which is critically low on munitions for its Patriot air defence systems, has been largely unable to ⁠down ballistic missiles over the past month.

Ukraine hit energy infrastructure, oil tankers and military assets as part of a campaign targeting Russian forces' supply routes and financing sources.

The long-range drone attacks are targeting Russian oil tankers, adding to that nation's burgeoning war-induced energy woes.