Ukraine reports drone strikes on Russian oil refineries
Kyiv said long-range drones hit refineries in Slavyansk and Yaroslavl as Russian officials reported deaths and damage from attacks.
By Lucas Ferreira · Science & Environment Writer
3 min read
Ukraine said it struck two Russian oil refineries with drones, extending a campaign aimed at Russia’s fuel and energy system. The attacks matter because Kyiv has increasingly targeted sites it says support Moscow’s ability to sustain the war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on X that long-range drones hit refineries in Slavyansk and Yaroslavl overnight. He said the Slavyansk site is about 300 kilometres, or 190 miles, from the front line, while Yaroslavl is about 700 kilometres, or 435 miles, away.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine would keep carrying out operations that reduce Russia’s capacity to fight. He described each strike as a way to cut resources available to Russia’s war effort.
Russian officials reported damage and casualties after the attacks. Veniamin Kondratyev, governor of Russia’s Krasnodar region, said on Telegram that a fire broke out at an oil refinery in Slavyansk-na-Kubani and that debris damaged several houses. Kondratyev said one person was killed in the drone attack.
Mikhail Yevrayev, governor of the Yaroslavl region, also said on Telegram that Ukrainian drones had attacked the region. He said exits from the city were temporarily closed.
Russia’s state news agency Tass reported that another person was killed in the Belgorod region’s Shebekinsky district after 64 Ukrainian drone attacks over 24 hours. Alexander Khinshtein, governor of the Kursk region, said Russia shot down 117 enemy drones of various types and that drones dropped explosives on Russian territory seven times.
Fuel sites under pressure
Ukraine has used long-range drones to hit Russian fuel infrastructure before. Al Jazeera reported that Kyiv last week struck two oil facilities in Kerch in Crimea and the port of Kavkaz, both of which are used to supply fuel to Russian front-line forces.
Al Jazeera also reported that Ukraine hit electricity plants, leading to a suspension of fuel sales in Crimea. Its reporting said repeated Ukrainian drone attacks on refineries and fuel storage sites have hurt Russia’s economy and contributed to fuel shortages.
The latest strikes came as the war, now more than four years old, continued alongside public comments about possible negotiations. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Moscow was ready to resume talks on ending the fighting, according to Al Jazeera and Reuters.
Putin said any renewed talks would be based on discussions held in Istanbul in 2022. Al Jazeera and Reuters reported that those terms include Russia’s demand that Ukraine surrender the Donbas region, among other unresolved issues.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence said on Sunday that its forces continued to advance in a ground offensive west of Lyman, according to the RIA Novosti news agency. The ministry said Russian forces killed 30 Ukrainian soldiers and destroyed four vehicles, five unmanned robotic systems and nine drone control centres.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.