Ukraine’s military intelligence said it used long-range drones on 7 July to hit the Ilsky oil refinery in Russia’s Krasnodar region, striking a key technological workshop about 500 km from Ukrainian-held territory. The plant, one of the largest in southern Russia with annual throughput of more than six million tonnes, supplies fuel to Moscow’s armed forces. The raid was Ukraine’s first confirmed attack on Russian energy infrastructure in nearly four months. Two weeks later, in the early hours of 24 July, Russia launched drones and missiles at Ukraine’s Odesa region, damaging sea ports, transport hubs and residential districts, according to Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba. Local officials said logistics facilities were hit and a moving railway train near the port was struck, though casualty figures were not immediately released. The Odesa ports are central to Kyiv’s Black Sea grain exports. Russian authorities separately reported that Ukrainian drones targeted an oil depot on Russia’s Black Sea coast the same night, underscoring a pattern of tit-for-tat strikes on coastal energy and logistics infrastructure despite ongoing efforts to revive peace talks.