Ukraine drones hit key Russia refinery as Kyiv widens long-range war

Ukraine launched overnight drones that hit Russian oil refineries and border regions. The strikes underscored Kyiv's bid to squeeze Moscow's war finances and logistics.

In Short

• Zelenskyy said overnight strikes reduced resources powering Russia's war effort
• Debris from intercepted drones sparked flames at Slavyansk-na-Kubani's major processing plant
• Belgorod and Krasnodar reported deaths, injuries and temporary transport disruptions

Ukraine kept up a heavy drone assault on Russia overnight, setting fire to a major oil refinery in the south and killing at least two people, Russian authorities said on Sunday. The attacks were part of Kyiv's recent push to intensify long-range strikes on Russian military industries and energy facilities.

Ukraine says the campaign is aimed at cutting Moscow's revenue for its invasion, now in its fifth year, and making Russians feel the consequences of the war. Western analysts say the strikes have disrupted Russian fuel supplies and military deliveries, slowing Moscow's battlefield efforts and adding pressure on the Kremlin to negotiate.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said two Russian oil refineries were hit in the overnight operation. "Tonight, our long-range sanctions reached two oil refineries in Russia," he wrote on Telegram on Sunday. "Each (strike) means a reduction in the resources that fuel the Russian war machine, and another step toward peace."

In Russia's Krasnodar region, east of occupied Crimea, debris from downed Ukrainian drones caused a fire at the refinery in Slavyansk-na-Kubani, according to Governor Veniamin Kondratyev. Regional authorities said the falling debris killed one person in Sloviansk and injured another in a nearby village. The Sloviansk facility is one of southern Russia's major refineries, processing close to 4 million tonnes of crude a year, according to the operator's website. It is also a key source of petroleum products exported through Russia's Black Sea ports, including fuel oil, naphtha and marine fuel.

Photos and videos shared on Russian social media showed a thick cloud of smoke over what users identified as the Sloviansk facility, although the Associated Press said it could not immediately verify the images. Zelenskyy also said a second refinery in the Yaroslavl region, about 700 kilometres from the Ukrainian border, was hit in the night strikes. Russian authorities did not immediately report a strike on that refinery, but Governor Mikhail Evraev said on Sunday morning that some roads between Moscow and Yaroslavl were temporarily closed because of "an enemy attack by Ukrainian drones". Yaroslavl airport was also briefly shut overnight, along with other airports in southern and western Russia, the country's civil aviation agency said.

In Belgorod, another Russian border region, Ukrainian drone strikes killed one person and injured another, acting Governor Alexander Shuvayev said. Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces shot down 213 Ukrainian drones during the night over Russia, occupied Crimea, and the Black and Azov seas. At the same time, Russia launched 142 long-range strike drones and eight missiles at Ukraine overnight, the Ukrainian air force said, adding that 125 drones and seven missiles were brought down. The latest exchanges underlined the growing scale of cross-border strikes by both sides.

With PTI Inputs

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