Russia and Ukraine Exchange Strikes: Odesa in Energy Crisis, Oil Tanker Hit in Mediterranean (Videos)

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According to the Ukrainian Air Force Command, overnight on December 18-19, Russian forces attacked Ukraine with a barrage of 160 strike drones (UAVs). The Ukrainian side reported that 108 of these drones were shot down or suppressed by air defense. Russia, for its part, reported destroying 94 Ukrainian UAVs over its own territory, the highest number in the Rostov region.

The hottest spot within Ukraine remained the Odesa region, where strikes on bridges and substations intensified the crisis. The Ukrainian side also acknowledged the loss of an Mi-24 helicopter, presumed shot down by a “Geran” drone using an R-60 air-to-air missile during an interception mission.

Also, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported that its special unit “Alpha” carried out an attack by aerial drones on the Omani-flagged oil tanker QENDIL in neutral waters of the Mediterranean Sea, over 2000 km from Ukraine.

Unlike previous operations involving sea drones or unmanned surface vessels (USVs), this attack employed a “Baba Yaga”-type hexacopter—a bomber that drops munitions—suggesting it was launched from a nearby vessel or coastline. The tanker, reportedly part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” used to evade sanctions, sustained critical damage and was disabled. Officials noted the tanker was empty at the time, averting a large-scale environmental disaster in the region. Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Kyiv’s attacks on oil tankers would not achieve their goals or disrupt supplies, but that Russia will definitely take retaliatory actions.

Destruction in Ukraine: Focus on Odesa

The strikes in the Odesa region intensified, paralyzing key infrastructure and worsening blackouts. “Geran” drones hit the 110/10 kV “Suvorovska” substation and an adjacent boiler house, the “Vostochnaya” substation near the railway station, and facilities in the Kotovskyi settlement, causing fires and cutting off power, water, and heating. The bridge in Mayaky on the Odesa-Reni highway was destroyed, halting traffic; repeated combined missile and drone attacks also targeted the bridge in Zatoka and sites in Illichivsk. Ukraine’s Ministry of Energy reported outages for 73,000 consumers, with restoration expected to take a week. Repairs are being conducted in stages without a fixed schedule, and new aerial raids are hampering the work.

According to experts, the increase in strikes on Odesa reflects a Russian strategy of totally blacking out specific regions, rather than the entire country: the city is the third largest by population, vulnerable due to its sea approach (air defense is weakly positioned there), proximity to Crimea, and the structure of its energy system where outages easily cause cascading failures. Ports are prioritized for power from generators, and the crisis hits the population, potentially requiring evacuation and increasing social pressure.

In the Sumy region, according to Russian sources, a drone assembly and repair workshop was targeted. Attacks were also reported in the Kharkiv region, specifically in the Izium and Saltiv areas, where key Ukrainian defensive lines are situated.

In the Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kyiv-controlled parts of the DPR, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions, there is extensive damage to power grids (with 26,000 left without electricity in Dnipro); in Kryvyi Rih, a tax office building was damaged.

Attacks on Russian Territory

Ukrainian drones and missiles hit three sites. In Oryol, a third attack on the Oryol Thermal Power Plant, likely carried out by “Neptun” missiles or kamikaze drones, disrupted electricity supplies, with residents reporting powerful explosions.

In the Rostov region, a strike hit an electrical substation in Bataysk. In the Samara region, three drones struck the “TolyattiAzot” plant in Tolyatti—one of the world’s top ten ammonia producers—causing fires in the 3rd and 4th units. The regional governor confirmed the attack but stated the drones had been repelled and there were no casualties. The road to the plant was temporarily blocked.

Against this backdrop, the EU summit in Brussels unveiled not just a policy decision but a deep internal rift, shaped by backroom negotiations, ultimatums, and secret deals. According to Politico, citing 23 current and former EU officials, the plan to effectively confiscate Russian assets via a “reparations loan” for Ukraine collapsed under the weight of its own legal and political risks. While Belgium had been the most visible and consistent blocker for over two years, opposing the asset seizure plan over fears of Russian retaliation and economic consequences, the decisive blow came from other major players.

In the final hours before the summit, a two-page legal document from the European Commission, intended to allay Belgian concerns, instead raised more questions and was immediately opposed by leaders from Italy, France, and Luxembourg. With the original plan dead, the Commission activated a fallback option: a €90 billion loan from the common EU budget until 2027, with repayment conditional on future Russian reparations. To secure this compromise, the EU had to make significant concessions. While confident it could neutralize a Hungarian veto by exempting Budapest from contributing, it ultimately also had to grant special conditions to the Czech Republic and Slovakia, ensuring their taxpayers would not directly fund Ukraine’s defense. As Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán declared the asset-seizure idea “dead,” the outcome highlighted the cracks in the bloc’s unity and the limits of its escalation when financial and legal risks fall squarely on European capitals.

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