Ukraine Hits Russian Oil Refinery, Caspian Port; Hours Before Trump–Putin Alaska Summit

Ukraine said on Friday it had carried out overnight strikes on the Syzran oil refinery in Russia’s Samara region and, a day earlier, on a Caspian Sea port and cargo vessel it claims were used to transport military supplies from Iran to Russia, according to Reuters.

The reported attacks came hours before U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin were due to meet in Alaska to discuss the war in Ukraine, a summit to which Kyiv has not been invited, and as Russian forces continued to make gains in eastern Ukraine.

Citing new General Staff data, Ukraine said the majority of its long-range operations this year have targeted Russian oil refineries and unspecified “storage facilities” as part of a campaign to reduce Moscow’s ability to continue the full-scale war launched in February 2022. The military did not confirm whether drones were used in the latest two incidents, as reported by Reuters.

In a statement on Telegram, Ukraine’s military said its strike on the Syzran facility caused a fire and explosions. It described the refinery as one of the largest in oil company Rosneft’s network, producing a range of fuels. Samara’s regional governor said a drone attack had sparked a fire at an unspecified “industrial enterprise” in the region, adding it was quickly extinguished. Russia’s defence ministry said Ukrainian drones were shot down over nine regions.

Ukraine also reported striking the port of Olya in Russia’s Astrakhan region on Thursday, hitting the vessel Port Olya-4. Kyiv said the ship regularly moves cargo, including drone parts and ammunition, from Iran to Russia across the Caspian Sea. The Ukrainian military described Olya as a key logistics hub for Russian military supplies from Iran.

According to the U.S. Treasury Department and Ukrainian military intelligence, Port Olya-4 has been involved in these shipments. The U.S. Treasury and State Department imposed sanctions last September on ships and companies accused of facilitating the supply of Iranian weapons to Russia.

Ukraine’s military said terminals and ports accounted for 7% of its successful strikes on Russian territory since the start of 2025. Most of these long-range strikes, it said, have taken place between 200 and 1,000 kilometres from Ukrainian positions. Kyiv estimated that damage from its strikes this year totals $74.1 billion, without giving details of how that figure was calculated.

Reuters said it could not independently verify Ukraine’s claims.

(With inputs from Reuters)