Ukrainian drones strike last untouched Russian gas refinery 930 miles from border

Ukraine continued its attacks on Russian oil and gas infrastructure overnight, striking two refineries and setting both ablaze, while also hitting five "ghost fleet" tankers, five cargo ships, a tugboat, and an oil transshipment area in the Black Sea, according to a statement from Ukraine's General Staff on Tuesday.

Russia's Ministry of Defense reported that its air defenses intercepted 288 Ukrainian drones across the country overnight. Russian authorities said falling debris from the drone attacks injured one person and damaged houses in several villages.

The increased strikes on Russian energy facilities are part of Ukrainian President Zelenskyy's 40-day influence operation aimed at pressuring Moscow to end the war.

Russia retaliated by striking an oil refinery in Odesa, Ukraine. Ukrainian forces also hit a Russian ammunition depot in occupied Donetsk and a logistics hub in occupied Luhansk, the General Staff reported.

Tit-for-Tat Refinery Attacks

Kyiv's drone forces commander, Robert Brovdi—known by his callsign "Magyar"—said in a statement that Ukrainian forces targeted two major oil refineries and 11 ships in the Sea of Azov on Monday night.

One of the drone attacks struck the Gazpromneftekhim Salavat LLC refinery in Russia's Republic of Bashkortostan, located approximately 930 miles (1,500 kilometers) from Ukraine. This is one of Russia's largest refineries.

Bashkortostan Governor Radiy Khabirov confirmed the attack and stated there were no casualties. The independent Astra News Service posted photos on Telegram showing large plumes of smoke rising from the facility.

The Salavat refinery had been the only gas refinery in Russia that had not been attacked by Ukraine in 2026, though it was struck previously in 2025.

Ukrainian drones also targeted the Afipsky Oil Refinery in Russia's Krasnodar Krai, one of the largest refineries in southern Russia.

"A fire broke out at the Afipsky Oil Refinery. The roofs, facades, windows, and fences of several private houses were damaged. Debris from the drones fell on the grounds of two facilities; in one case, a fire broke out," the operational headquarters reported.

The Afipsky refinery has an annual processing capacity of 6.25 million tons of crude oil and gas condensate, supplied from Western Siberia and the Volga-Ural region via pipelines and rail. It produces gasoline, diesel fuel, vacuum gas oil, fuel oil, sulfur, and other petroleum products used by the Russian military.

According to Bloomberg, Russian forces have launched targeted strikes and drone attacks on fuel and port infrastructure in the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Odesa. The bombardments hit military cargo storage facilities, transshipment hubs, and logistics centers. Local officials noted the attacks caused fires and injured multiple civilians.

"Shadow Fleet" in the Sea of Azov Targeted

Ukraine launched further attacks aimed at damaging Russia's so-called "shadow fleet" and limiting fuel supplies to Moscow's illegally occupied Crimea.

Ukraine claims its forces have struck 116 vessels over the past nine days in the Sea of Azov as part of operations targeting Russian shipping.

On Saturday, Ukraine reported that 21 Russian oil tankers were struck in the Sea of Azov in one of the largest Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian shipping since the start of the war.

These attacks on tankers and dry cargo ships are forcing Russia to reroute grain shipments from the Sea of Azov following the latest strikes on 11 ships overnight.

Russia's Ministry of Agriculture said in a statement on Tuesday that the country was preparing to use "alternative shipping routes" and may redirect cargo "to other modes of transport."

Due to these attacks on Russian shipping in the Sea of Azov, sources told Reuters on Monday that commercial vessels were unable to enter or leave the sea via the Kerch Strait or the Azov-Don channel connecting the sea to the Don River.

Russian FM Lavrov Says Ukraine Is Committing Acts of Terrorism

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Ukraine of carrying out "acts of terrorism."

"What the Ukrainian regime is doing goes beyond even piracy. Pirates, at least, plunder and keep the spoils for themselves. But here, it benefits neither them nor anyone else – the goal is simply to cause damage and intimidate. It is terrorism, pure and simple," Lavrov said.

An unnamed Ukrainian military source told Reuters: "The Ukrainian Armed Forces strike only military targets or targets that contribute to strengthening Russia's combat capability."