KYIV: Ukraine said its drones struck a Russian oil rig belonging to Lukoil in the Caspian Sea and a military patrol ship near a rig as Kyiv steps up attacks on Moscow’s oil infrastructure.
The attack, which Ukraine’s general staff said took place on Friday, is one of a string of strikes targeting Russian drilling infrastructure in the Caspian Sea in recent weeks, but the first one that the Ukrainian military acknowledged officially. A drilling platform of the Filanovsky oil rig was damaged in the attack, according to the Ukrainian military. The rig came under drone attacks at least two more times in December.
Reuters was not able to confirm the report. Lukoil was not available for immediate comment.
Ukraine says that Russian oil infrastructure is a legitimate target since the trade revenue is Russia’s main source for financing its almost four-year-old full-on war against the country.
The general staff added that a military patrol ship was targeted in the strike as well, and the level of damage was being assessed.
Ukraine has been attacking Russian oil refineries throughout 2024 and 2025, but has visibly widened its campaign in recent weeks, claiming credit for sea-drone attacks on Russian shadow fleet tankers in the Black Sea and Mediterranean.
Ukraine says it hit Russian oil rig, patrol ship in Caspian Sea
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Ukraine says it hit Russian oil rig, patrol ship in Caspian Sea
- Ukraine says that Russian oil infrastructure is a legitimate target since the trade revenue is Russia’s main source for financing its almost four-year-old full-on war against the country
US Justice Department official eyes cases against Cuba leaders as Trump floats ‘friendly takeover’
- “Working group” formed to build cases against people connected to the Cuban government
- Trump’s has increasingly displayed aggressive stance against Cuba’s communist leadership
MIAMI: The top Justice Department prosecutor in Miami is considering criminal investigations of Cuban government officials, according to people familiar with the matter. The inquiry comes as President Donald Trump has raised the possibility of a “friendly takeover” of the communist-run island.
Jason Reding Quiñones, the US attorney for the Southern District of Florida, has created a “working group” that includes federal prosecutors and officials from the Drug Enforcement Administration and other agencies to try to build cases against people connected to the Cuban government and its Communist Party, according to one of the people. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the effort.
It was not immediately clear which Cuban officials the office is targeting or what criminal charges prosecutors may be looking to bring.
The Justice Department said in a statement Friday that “federal prosecutors from across the country work every day to pursue justice, which includes efforts to combat transnational crime.”
The effort is taking place against the backdrop of Trump’s increasingly aggressive stance against Cuba’s communist leadership.
Emboldened by the US capture of Cuba’s close ally, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Trump last month said his administration was in high-level talks with officials in Havana to pursue “a friendly takeover” of the country. He repeated those claims this week, saying his attention would turn back to Cuba once the war with Iran winds down.
“They want to make a deal so bad,” Trump said of Cuba’s leadership.
While Cuba has faded from Washington’s radar as a major national security threat in recent decades, it remains a priority in the US Attorney’s office in Miami, whose political, economic and cultural life is dominated by Cuban-American exiles.
The FBI field office has a dedicated Cuba group that in 2024 was instrumental in the arrest of former US Ambassador Victor Manuel Rocha on charges of serving as a secret agent of Cuba stretching back to the 1970s.
In recent weeks, several Miami Republicans, in addition to Florida Sen. Rick Scott, have called on the Trump administration to reopen its criminal investigation into the 1996 shootdown of four planes operated by anti-communist exiles.
In a letter to Trump on Feb. 13, lawmakers including Reps. Maria Elvira Salazar and Carlos Gimenez highlighted decades-old news reports indicating that former President Raúl Castro — the head of Cuba’s military at the time — gave the order to shoot down the unarmed Cessna aircraft.
“We believe unequivocally that Raúl Castro is responsible for this heinous crime,” lawmakers wrote. “It is time for him to be brought to justice.”
While no indictment against Castro has been announced, Florida’s attorney general said this week that he would open a state-level investigation into the crime.
The Trump administration has also accused Cuba of not cooperating with American counterterrorism efforts, adding it alongside North Korea and Iran to a select few nations the US considers state sponsors of terrorism.
The designation stems from Cuba’s harboring of US fugitives and its refusal to extradite several Colombian rebel leaders while they were engaged in peace talks with the South American nation.
