In the early hours of December 8, 2025, the war in Ukraine took another dramatic turn as Ukrainian forces launched a series of daring drone and missile strikes deep into Russian-controlled territory and across the border into Russia itself. According to reports from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, these strikes targeted critical logistics and military infrastructure, aiming to disrupt Russia’s ability to wage war and resupply its troops on the front lines.
The most significant blow landed days earlier, on December 5, when Ukrainian drones struck the Temryuk Seaport in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai. The attack, which Ukrainian military officials later described as a major success, destroyed 20 fuel tanks—an estimated 70% of the port’s total fuel storage capacity. The Temryuk Seaport is no minor facility; it handles a range of cargo, including liquefied natural gas, a vital resource for Russian military operations. The resulting fire quickly grew out of control, spreading across nearly 1,000 square meters at the liquefied gas loading rack, where about two dozen rail tank cars were stationed. Local Russian authorities confirmed the strike and the extensive damage to the port infrastructure, as reported by Militarnyi.
“As a result of the UAV attack… elements of port infrastructure in Temryuk were damaged. A fire occurred… 32 specialists and 8 units of equipment were deployed to extinguish it. Emergency services are working at the site,” the regional emergency response headquarters said, according to Militarnyi. The fire, still burning as of the evening of December 7, underscored the scale of the destruction and the challenge facing Russian emergency responders.
Ukrainian officials hailed the operation as a significant blow to Russia’s military logistics. The General Staff emphasized that defense forces continue to target Russia’s military-economic potential in order to weaken its ability to wage combat operations. The destruction of the Temryuk fuel tanks is part of a broader Ukrainian strategy that, according to The Kyiv Independent, has routinely focused on oil depots and fuel infrastructure both inside Russia and in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories. The goal is clear: disrupt Moscow’s supply lines and complicate the resupply of its troops.
But the strikes did not stop at Temryuk. On the night of December 8, Ukrainian forces carried out coordinated attacks on multiple sites across Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine and in the Krasnodar region of Russia. In the Chmyrivka area of Luhansk Oblast, an ammunition depot was destroyed. Near the city of Donetsk, a drone storage facility was also hit. Ukrainian forces further targeted a fuel and lubricants depot near the settlement of Simeykine in Luhansk, which, according to Ukrainian military statements, could significantly complicate the logistical support for Russian units operating in the region.
In Donetsk Oblast, the strikes also targeted a mobile fire group and a Pantsir-S1 air defense system, key elements of Russia’s battlefield defenses. The full extent of the damage from these December 8 strikes is still being assessed, but Ukrainian officials are confident that the attacks have dealt another blow to Russia’s ability to sustain its military campaign.
These operations are part of a marked escalation in Ukraine’s campaign to hit Russian military infrastructure far behind the front lines. According to OSINT communities Exilenova+ and Supernova+, footage shared online showed the immediate aftermath of the Temryuk port strike, with massive flames lighting up the night sky. Local residents in the Temryuk Bay area of the Azov Sea, where the port is situated on the Taman Peninsula, captured videos of the fire consuming the facility’s infrastructure. Russian outlet Astra confirmed the scale of the blaze, and local authorities acknowledged the damage.
The attacks come amid a broader pattern of Ukrainian strikes targeting Russian logistics hubs. Earlier, Ukrainian drone attacks destroyed at least two fuel storage tanks at the Livny oil depot in Russia’s Oryol region, further highlighting Ukraine’s focus on disrupting Russia’s supply chains. While the strikes have not gone unanswered—Russian forces continue to launch their own attacks on Ukrainian territory—the tempo and reach of Ukraine’s recent operations mark a new phase in the conflict.
For Russia, the loss of fuel and ammunition depots, as well as the damage to key air defense assets like the Pantsir-S1 system, represents a serious challenge. Fuel is the lifeblood of any military, powering everything from tanks to supply trucks to aircraft. The destruction of such a large portion of Temryuk’s fuel storage not only hampers immediate operations but also forces Russia to reroute supplies, stretching its logistics network even thinner.
Ukraine’s strategy, as articulated by its General Staff, is to strike at the heart of Russia’s military-economic potential. By targeting the infrastructure that underpins Russia’s war effort, Ukrainian forces hope to erode Moscow’s ability to sustain offensive operations and maintain its hold on occupied territories. The strikes also send a message: nowhere, not even deep inside Russia, is beyond Ukraine’s reach.
Russian authorities, for their part, have acknowledged the damage but have been tight-lipped about the broader impact. The Krasnodar Krai Operational Headquarters confirmed the fire at Temryuk and the deployment of emergency services but did not provide detailed casualty or damage assessments. As of December 8, emergency crews continued to battle the blaze, with the situation at the port still not fully under control.
In the meantime, Ukrainian officials remain cautious, noting that the full consequences of the strikes are still being evaluated. The fog of war makes it difficult to obtain precise assessments, but the scale of the fires and the destruction of key infrastructure speak for themselves. According to the General Staff of Ukraine, “the defense forces continue to strike at Russia’s military-economic potential in order to weaken its ability to wage combat operations.”
With both sides digging in for what promises to be a long and difficult winter, the latest strikes underscore the evolving nature of the conflict. As Ukraine pushes the boundaries of its drone and missile capabilities, and Russia scrambles to shore up its defenses, the war’s front lines are no longer confined to the trenches of Donbas or the fields of southern Ukraine. Instead, the battle now stretches deep into the logistical arteries that sustain the fight, with each side seeking to outmaneuver the other in a high-stakes contest of endurance and innovation.
As the fires at Temryuk continue to smolder and Ukrainian officials take stock of their latest successes, one thing is clear: the war is entering a new and unpredictable phase, with the outcome hanging in the balance and the world watching closely.
