Ukrainian drones hit refinery and fuel depot in Russia

Ukraine carried out a new wave of drone attacks against Russian territory overnight on Sunday, hitting an oil refinery, a fuel depot and a pipeline pumping station, according to Russian and Ukrainian authorities.

The actions are part of a growing campaign by Kiev against Russia's energy infrastructure, including facilities located hundreds of kilometers from the front line of the war.

According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Saratov oil refinery, located on the banks of the Volga River, was hit during the operation, causing a major fire. The region's governor, Roman Busargin, stated via Telegram that there was damage to "civil infrastructure", without detailing which structures were affected.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy confirmed the attack and highlighted the distance between the target and the front line of the conflict. "Overnight, our soldiers applied Ukraine's long-range sanctions against an oil refinery in Saratov, Russia. This is about 700 km from the front line," he stated.

Not all drones launched by Ukraine managed to achieve their objectives. The Russian Defense Ministry reported shooting down 216 unmanned aircraft overnight.

In addition to the refinery, Kiev said it had hit the Lazarevo pumping station, located in the Kirov region, northeast of Moscow. According to the Ukrainian military, the facility supplies the Surgut-Gorky-Polotsk pipeline, used to transport oil from Siberia to Belarus.

The governor of the Kirov region, Alexander Sokolov, confirmed that drones struck a local facility, but did not provide details about the damage or the functioning of the structure after the attack.

Another target was a fuel depot in the city of Matveyev Kurgan, in the Rostov region, an area that borders the Ukrainian Donbas. Local authorities reported that a large fire engulfed the facility following the impact of the drones. The city is close to the Russian-controlled portion of the Donetsk region. Ukraine confirmed having carried out the attack.

The consequences of the bombings were also recorded in other areas close to the border. The governors of the Voronezh and Belgorod regions reported damage caused by the drones. In Belgorod, three civilians were injured, according to local authorities.

"WAVE IN FAVOR OF UKRAINE": correspondent reports pressure against Russians | Out of Order

In Crimea, a peninsula controlled by Moscow since 2014, governor Sergei Aksyonov announced restrictions on the sale of gasoline. Although he did not explain the reasons for the measure, the decision comes in a context of repeated Ukrainian attacks on facilities linked to fuel supply in southwestern Russia.

While attacks against energy infrastructure intensify, a new exchange of accusations involving the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant has increased tension between the two countries. Russia accused Ukraine of targeting a garage inside the nuclear complex located in territory occupied by Russian forces. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry denied the allegation, just as it had already rejected a similar accusation made the previous day.

The United Nations nuclear watchdog, which has inspectors at the facility, said its staff observed damage to a turbine building caused by drones on Saturday. The report, however, did not identify the origin of the aircraft. According to the statement, radiation levels at the plant remained within normal limits.

The attacks come at a time when Ukraine seeks to increase military pressure on Russia. In an interview with Reuters, Brigadier General Andriy Biletsky, commander of Ukraine's Third Army Corps, assessed that the next few months will be decisive for the course of the conflict.

"I believe the next six to nine months will be a turning point," he said. "More precisely, I think the next six months are the most critical."

According to Biletsky, Russian forces were facing signs of wear and tear after more than four years of war. In the commander's assessment, if Ukraine manages to maintain the current pace of operations and consolidate gains on the battlefield, it will be able to strengthen its position in future peace negotiations.

"We need to define the directions in which we can improve our positions, take some strategic points, and then talk to the Russians from a position of strength - not weakness - about a truly stable truce," he declared.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has maintained that Russia will achieve its objectives in the war and recently stated that he believes the conflict is approaching its final phase. Despite this, fighting remains intense in eastern Ukraine, especially in the Donetsk region, one of the main focuses of the territorial dispute between the two countries.

Analysts interviewed by Reuters point out that both Moscow and Kiev face challenges in sustaining their military efforts. While Russia deals with signs of wear and tear on some fronts, Ukraine continues to face difficulties related to the availability of personnel. At the same time, both sides are accelerating the use of new technologies on the battlefield, with an emphasis on drones, unmanned systems and long-range attacks.

In this scenario, the recent bombings against refineries, fuel depots and facilities linked to oil transportation highlight the Ukrainian strategy of increasing pressure on Russian energy logistics, while the conflict continues without immediate prospects for a diplomatic solution.

With information from Felix Light and Max Hunder, from Reuters; edited by Kevin Liffey and David Holmes

Why is Donetsk a point of contention in ending the war in Ukraine?

Source: CNN