Ukraine Launches Drone Attacks on Russia, Targets Oil Refinery and Civilian Areas
In a retaliatory move, Ukraine launched dozens of drones at Russia, resulting in fires at an oil refinery and civilian areas, wounding three people.
The attack, which occurred between late Wednesday and early Thursday, is seen as a response to Moscow’s daily missile and drone barrages on Ukrainian civilians.
Videos posted on Russian social media showed a massive fire at an oil refinery in Volgograd, approximately 470 kilometres from the front line.
Volgograd region governor Andrei Bocharov confirmed the attack, stating that debris from the drones caused oil products to spill and catch fire at the refinery.
Drone Strikes Civilian Areas
In a separate incident, a Ukrainian drone struck a car in the centre of Belgorod region’s capital, setting it alight and wounding three people.
The governor of Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, shared a video of the incident on Telegram, showing the car in flames and debris scattered across the street.
Emergency services were deployed to the scene.
Ukraine did not immediately comment on the reported attacks.
However, Kyiv has consistently maintained that such strikes are a fair retaliation for Moscow’s daily attacks on Ukrainian civilians.
Russian Response
The Russian defence ministry claimed to have intercepted 44 Ukrainian drones between late Wednesday and early Thursday, including seven over Crimea, the peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.
The timing of the attacks is significant, coming on the eve of a high-level summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
The meeting, the first between a sitting US and Russian president since 2021, aims to end the three-and-a-half-year conflict.