Apparent Ukrainian drone attack hits Russian oil depot; top U.S. official in Moscow for peace push

An apparent Ukrainian drone strike hit a key Russian oil depot in the city of Sochi along the Black Sea coast early Sunday, while a major Russian drone-and-missile attack hit a residential area in southern Ukraine.

The dueling attacks by the two sides come as Trump administration Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to arrive Sunday in Moscow for meetings with Kremlin officials.

President Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine, retired Army Gen. Keith Kellogg, reportedly will travel to Ukraine in the coming days as the White House mounts a last-ditch push for a ceasefire deal ahead of Mr. Trump’s Aug. 8 deadline.

After that date, the president has warned he will impose secondary tariffs on Russia’s oil sector, which analysts say would be a significant blow to the Russian economy and the ability of Russian President Vladimir Putin to fund his war machine with energy revenues.

But neither Russia nor Ukraine showed signs of ending their respective attacks. The apparent Ukrainian drone strike on the Sochi oil depot is another high-profile Ukrainian strike on targets inside Russia. Videos on social media appeared to show huge pillars of smoke billowing above the oil depot, while Russia’s civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, temporarily stopped flights at Sochi’s airport.

Authorities in Russia’s Voronezh region, to the north of Sochi, reported that four people were wounded in another Ukrainian drone strike, the Associated Press reported.

Ukrainian officials said that a Russian missile strike hit a residential area in the city of Mykolaiv. It wasn’t immediately clear whether anyone was killed or injured. Ukrainian authorities said Russia launched 76 drones and seven missiles toward Ukraine overnight. Most were intercepted, but several hit their targets.

The escalating attacks could indicate that both Ukraine and Russia are trying to gain leverage during the crucial days of ceasefire negotiations ahead of the Aug. 8 deadline.

Mr. Witkoff’s visit to Moscow this weekend is a clear sign that the administration intends to push hard this week to finally secure a deal. The Kyiv Post reported Sunday that Mr. Kellogg is also expected in Ukraine as the administration works to bring the two sides together.

If that effort fails, Mr. Trump said he’s prepared to put significant new tariffs on Russia. The president increasingly views Moscow as the impediment to a peace deal.

“Ten days from today, and then, you know, we’re going to put on tariffs and stuff,” Mr. Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One last Thursday. “I don’t know if it’s going to affect Russia because [Mr. Putin] wants to, obviously, probably keep the war going, but we’re going to put on tariffs and various things that you put on. It may or may not affect them.”