Video: Ukraine claims drone strikes on Russian offshore assets

The Ukrainian military claimed successful strikes on a trio of offshore drilling platforms operated by the sanctioned Russian oil and gas entity Lukoil.

Damage to the Caspian Sea-based platforms V Filanovsky, Yuri Korchagin, and Valery Greifer remains unclear.

A group calling itself the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine posted a summary of the attack across social media channels, including Telegram and Facebook, including a video, which can be seen at the end of this article. 

"The Defense Forces of Ukraine hit three drilling rigs of the Lukoil corporation in the Caspian Sea," the post said. "These facilities are involved in providing support to the Russian occupation army. Hits were recorded. The scale of damage is being clarified." The posts were in Ukrainian with English translations.

Ukraine began to intensify its attacks on Russian energy and energy transport infrastructure in December 2025, with drone strikes on a Russia-linked tanker as well as the Filanovsky oil rig. 

The first direct hit on the Russian oil rig Filanovsky, from at least four aerial drones, reportedly halted production at the facility, which is positioned hundreds of miles from Ukraine. 

Russian forces have targeted energy infrastructure within Ukraine since early on in its unprovoked war against its neighbour. The Russian strikes, often during winter, have included power plants and caused widespread electricity and heating outages across Ukraine. 

The United Kingdom has promised to develop new tactical ballistic missiles to "boost Ukraine’s firepower to defend itself from Putin’s war machine," according to a UK government statement.

"Under Project Nightfall, the UK has launched a competition to rapidly develop ground-launched ballistic missiles with a range of more than 500 km designed to operate in high-threat battlefields with heavy electromagnetic interference. Nightfall missiles will be capable of being launched from a range of vehicles, firing multiple missiles in quick succession and withdrawing within minutes – allowing Ukrainian forces to hit key military targets before Russian forces can respond," the UK said.

Russia made news by using an Oreshnik hypersonic missile in an attack close to Ukraine’s border with Poland, which is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), formed as an alliance against the USSR during the Cold War. Russia claimed the use of the missile, which it claims is capable of carrying nuclear warheads, was in retaliation for an unsuccessful drone attack by Ukraine on one of the state residences of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

A Ukrainian non-profit that follows military action in the region said NASA FIRMS satellite fire-monitoring data showed "no signs of fire at the V Filanovsky platform in the northern Caspian Sea. A similar situation applies to the Yuri Korchagin and Valery Greifer platforms, suggesting the drones may have hit the hulls without igniting or depressurising oil or gas products".