Ukraine reports three killed in Russian strikes and hits refinery in Ufa
Ukrainian officials reported deadly Russian attacks in the southeast while Kyiv said it struck energy and military-linked sites inside Russia.
By James Whitfield · Staff Writer
3 min read
Russian attacks killed at least three people and wounded more than a dozen in southeastern Ukraine, Ukrainian officials and media reported, while Kyiv said it carried out another long-range strike inside Russia. The reports underscored the widening exchange of drone and missile attacks far from the front line.
Oleksandr Hanzha, governor of Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, said Russia sent drones into the region early Wednesday, killing a woman and damaging five petrol stations. Ukrainian media reported that a separate strike late Tuesday on Zaporizhzhia, the capital of the neighboring Zaporizhia region, killed two people.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine struck an oil refinery in Ufa, in southern Russia, more than 1,300km, or about 800 miles, from the battlefield. He also said Ukrainian forces targeted what he called a strategic site tied to Russia’s military-industrial complex in the Penza region.
Zelenskyy, writing on X, described the attacks as a justified answer to Russian strikes on Ukraine and said Russia’s leadership needed to recognize the need for peace.
Russia reports large drone barrage
Russia said a day earlier that its forces had shot down 419 Ukrainian drones across the country, according to Al Jazeera and AFP. Russian authorities said the interceptions included drones over the Moscow region, where officials reported that a six-month-old child was killed.
Kyiv has increased long-range drone attacks on Russian territory in recent months, Al Jazeera and AFP reported, as Moscow’s full-scale war against Ukraine approaches four and a half years. Ukraine has repeatedly targeted Russian energy infrastructure and facilities it says support Moscow’s war effort.
The latest reported attacks came during another week of military and diplomatic moves. Aircraft manufacturer Saab said Kyiv signed a contract Tuesday with Sweden for 16 used Gripen E fighter jets, valuing the deal at 24.6 billion kronor, or $2.53bn.
Zelenskyy said the older aircraft would be transferred to Ukraine’s air force at the beginning of 2027 under an agreement with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. The report did not detail how the aircraft would be used or when Ukrainian pilots would be ready to operate them.
Peace positions remain far apart
The Kremlin said earlier in the week that Russia’s position on a peace settlement had not changed since 2024, according to Al Jazeera and AFP. Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a weekend television interview that Moscow would continue trying to gain full control of four Ukrainian regions it claimed to annex in 2022: Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia.
Putin also rejected what he described as a new Ukrainian proposal to reduce the scale of fighting, Al Jazeera and AFP reported. Ukraine and many Western governments do not recognize Russia’s annexation claims over the four regions.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.