Ukraine said it launched overnight drone strikes on oil refineries in Russia’s Krasnodar and Yaroslavl regions as part of a broader effort to weaken Moscow’s war capabilities and disrupt fuel supplies.
The attacks have added to fuel and power disruptions across parts of Russia and Russian-controlled territories.
It includes Crimea and Kherson, where authorities reported shortages, outages and transport restrictions.
Ukraine Expands Drone Campaign With Strikes on Russian Oil Infrastructure
Zelenskyy said Kyiv had authorised a 40-day campaign targeting infrastructure inside Russia to “influence the aggressor state in order to press for an end to the war”, with recent strikes also hitting oil facilities in Ufa and Krasnodar.
Summary
Ukraine launched overnight drone strikes targeting two Russian oil refineries in the Krasnodar and Yaroslavl regions, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday, as Kyiv intensifies efforts to disrupt Russia’s energy infrastructure and pressure Moscow to end the war.
The attacks are part of an expanding Ukrainian campaign against Russian fuel and logistics facilities. Repeated drone strikes in recent months have contributed to fuel shortages in several Russian regions, leading to reports of rationing and long queues at petrol stations.
"We continue our operations that weaken Russia's ability to wage this war," Zelenskyy wrote on social media, adding that the targeted refineries were located around 300 km and 700 km (190 miles and 430 miles) from Ukrainian territory.
In the Krasnodar region, Governor Veniamin Kondratiev said a fire broke out at the Slavyansk-na-Kubani refinery. Regional authorities reported that one person was killed and another injured in a nearby village. Videos circulating on social media, which Reuters could not independently verify, appeared to show a large blaze at the facility.
The privately owned Slavyansk refinery has a processing capacity of about 100,000 barrels per day and supplies fuel for both domestic use and export markets. In the Yaroslavl region, east of Moscow, authorities said the area also came under drone attack and imposed temporary restrictions on some routes leading to the Russian capital.
The strikes come as Kyiv broadens its long-range campaign against Russian infrastructure. Zelenskyy said he had authorised a 40-day operation targeting sites inside Russia to “influence the aggressor state in order to press for an end to the war” after consultations with the head of Ukraine’s security service.
Earlier this week, Ukraine said it struck two additional oil refineries in Ufa, about 1,500 km (930 miles) from the frontline, as well as an oil depot in Russia’s Krasnodar region. Aleksandr Kharitonov, head of Krasnoarmeysk district, confirmed that the depot at Poltavskaya had been hit.
Advertisement
The attacks have also deepened disruption in Russian-occupied territories. Authorities in Crimea announced further power outages after Ukrainian strikes left Sevastopol, the peninsula’s largest city, without electricity. The region has also been grappling with fuel shortages that have prompted a complete ban on petrol sales to the general public.
Power supplies were fully or partially cut across parts of the Russian-controlled Kherson region bordering Crimea, according to Moscow-installed governor Vladimir Saldo. Separately, Crimea’s Russia-appointed governor Sergei Aksyonov said train services to the peninsula, a popular summer destination for Russian tourists, were being reduced.
Zelenskyy also said Russian relay stations in Belarus used to support attacks on Ukraine had been switched off. However, he warned that Belarus was continuing to build road infrastructure and storage facilities for ammunition and fuel near the border, developments he said served no purpose other than military use.
Published At: