“The two ports are important for a 'state that has pretty much become reliant on the oil industry to continue to fund the war effort', said Hawn.”

“Kyiv likely had the ports in its crosshairs for a long time, but it wasn’t until six months ago that 'the capacity and range of Ukrainian drones significantly increased', said Aliyev.”

“The recent drone strikes are 'the natural evolution of the Ukrainian strategy, which began by targeting infrastructure near the border and in the Black Sea region because they are the easiest targets to attain', said Aliyev.”

“The Ukrainian army has begun striking deeper into Russian territory simply because their drones now have the capacity to do so.”

“The strikes also mark a 'strategic change in [Ukraine’s] choice of targets', said Will Kingston-Cox, a Russia specialist at the International Team for the Study of Security Verona. Ukraine’s previous refinery strikes were 'used to squeeze processing capabilities and to create bottlenecks in [domestic] fuel production, whereas import and export terminal strikes are going after the routes [through which] Russia monetizes its hydrocarbons internationally', added Kingston-Cox.”

“The timing of the strikes counts. 'The demand for Russian oil has strongly increased because of the war in the Middle East and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz,' said Aliyev.”

“Following the near-total pause in maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, the United States issued a 30-day waiver allowing Russia to sell some of its oil once again, said Loskot-Strachota.”

“The strikes on Russian oil infrastructure on the Baltic Sea are Ukraine’s way of saying that if outside economic pressure on Moscow is weakening in terms of its oil, it will 'create some sort of military economic pressure itself', said Kingston-Cox.”

“For the specialist, the move is 'economically intelligent' because with relatively low-cost weapons like drones, Ukraine can hit the Kremlin directly in its wallet, where it hurts the most.”

“It’s not surprising in the current context that certain European countries have asked Ukraine to reduce its strikes on Russian oil, as Zelensky admitted himself.”

“Even if Europe intends to eventually phase out all Russian oil, the oil market is global and any reduction of Russia’s export capacity tightens the global supply, said Loskot-Strachota.”

“Aliyev's note on Ukraine continuing strikes if possible is a claim.”

“Hawn's comment on the gamble for Ukraine is a claim.”

“The article's mention of the phantom fleet's vessels leaving from these ports is a claim.”

“The conclusion about the port resuming activity and needing harder strikes is a claim.”