Russia strikes Kyiv as Ukraine hits refineries deep inside Russia

Russian strikes killed four in Ukraine as Kyiv launched deep retaliatory drone attacks inside Russia. The exchange coincided with Zelenskyy's meeting with Trump over air defence, weapons and possible talks.

In Short

• Pre-dawn explosions in Kyiv damaged trams, warehouses and administrative buildings
• Kharkiv suffered overnight casualties while Zaporizhzhia residents were injured by bombing
• Trump offered overseas Patriot production licences as Zelenskyy pressed for air defence

Russian drones and missiles killed four people across Ukraine on Wednesday in attacks before dawn and at midday, as Moscow kept up pressure on Kyiv in the latest phase of the more than four-year-old war. Ukraine, meanwhile, said it struck oil refineries and other facilities deep inside Russia.

The developments came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was in Turkiye to meet US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the NATO summit. Trump said the US would give licences so that Patriot air defence systems could be made overseas for Ukraine, while Zelenskyy said Kyiv wanted to discuss weapons supplies, possible peace negotiations and a developing drone deal.

In Kyiv, several explosions were heard shortly after midnight, even before authorities could issue an air raid alert to give civilians time to find shelter. The early morning Russian attacks killed one woman and injured two others in the capital, according to city administration head Tymur Tkachenko. The State Emergency Service said the attack damaged several administrative buildings and warehouses, as well as a garage complex and several trams.

Hours later, another Russian drone struck Kyiv's Desnianskyi district, killing a second person and injuring six others, Tkachenko said. A total of eight people were injured in the Russian attacks on the capital. In Kharkiv, two people were killed and 20 others were injured in a series of overnight strikes, according to Mayor Ihor Terekhov. In Zaporizhzhia, a Russian guided bomb injured a man and a woman on Tuesday night, regional head Ivan Fedorov said.

Ukraine's air force said Russia fired 169 long-range strike drones and seven missiles, including five ballistic missiles. Air defences shot down or jammed 139 drones, and two anti-radar missiles did not reach their targets, it said. All five ballistic missiles and 20 drones struck targets at 15 locations, the air force said. Russia's Defence Ministry said it struck arms industry facilities in Kyiv, including a plant that manufactured components for Flamingo cruise missiles and a facility assembling mid- and long-range drones.

Answering reporters' questions alongside Zelenskyy, Trump said the US would give licences so that Patriot systems could be made overseas for Ukraine to counter Russia. Zelenskyy thanked Trump for his support and said Kyiv wanted to discuss weapons supplies, possible peace negotiations and a developing drone deal. "Air defence is the priority," Zelenskyy said, adding that Kyiv wanted to share details of its needs under the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List, or PURL, under which European allies and Canada are buying American weapons to help Ukraine. Zelenskyy also said Ukrainian and US officials had begun work on a drone deal, calling it "a very good beginning."

Russia's Defence Ministry also said air defences downed 415 Ukrainian drones from late Tuesday to early Wednesday. Gov Roman Busargin of Russia's Saratov region said a Ukrainian drone attack killed one person, injured several others and damaged unspecified industrial facilities. Zelenskyy said Ukrainian long-range attacks reached the Saratov, Tatarstan and Bashkortostan regions deep inside Russia, as well as the Voronezh region closer to the Ukrainian border. He said the strikes hit refineries in Saratov and Tatarstan, the latest energy facilities struck by Ukraine that have worsened fuel shortages across Russia.

In the Tatarstan region, Nizhnekamsk Mayor Radmir Belyayev said Ukrainian drones damaged industrial facilities in the city and injured several people, but did not identify the damaged facilities. Sergei Aksyonov, the Moscow-installed head of the Crimean Peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014, said restrictions on civilian fuel sales would continue and that petrol would not be available "on certain days". He said many of the decisions being made to resolve the crisis could not be disclosed publicly, adding that he was giving regular updates to Russian President Vladimir Putin. "The fuel supply situation remains strained and will continue to be so for some time," he said. "We are monitoring this issue closely in coordination with the federal government and are working on a solution."

Russia's Gazprom state-controlled gas company said Ukrainian drones attacked the Krasnodarskaya compressor station serving the Blue Stream natural gas pipeline to Turkiye late Tuesday. It said the attack was intended to derail Russian gas shipments to Turkiye, but there was no disruption of supplies. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called it another "dangerous" attack against "the critical international energy system" and said he hoped Turkiye and other nations would warn Kyiv against such action. Rostov regional Governor Yuri Slyusar said Ukrainian drones also damaged two oil tankers in Taganrog Bay, injuring two crew members, and the crew of one ship had to be evacuated. He said there was no oil spill because the tankers heading to the port of Rostov-on-Don were empty.

The day saw fresh Russian strikes on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, along with Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy and transport targets, as both sides reported casualties, damage and continued pressure on key infrastructure.

With PTI Inputs

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