Ukraine hits Russian energy targets and denies striking Kremlin-occupied
nuclear plant
[June 01, 2026]
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Kyiv on Sunday launched new strikes overnight on
Russian energy sites. It has also denied Moscow’s claims that a
Ukrainian drone struck the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear
plant.
Ukraine’s General Staff said Ukrainian drones struck the Saratov oil
refinery in southwestern Russia, causing a large-scale fire. It claimed
the refinery has been supplying Moscow’s war effort.
The refinery belongs to Russia’s state oil enterprise, Rosneft. Local
Russian Gov. Roman Busargin said Ukrainian drones had damaged civilian
infrastructure, but did not give details. Astra, an independent Russian
news channel, said an oil refinery was on fire in the city of Saratov.
Ukraine has stepped up its attacks on Russia’s oil and gas facilities in
recent months, arguing the energy sector funds and directly fuels
Moscow’s more than four-year invasion.
“Tonight, our soldiers applied Ukraine’s long-range sanctions against an
oil refinery in Saratov, Russia — approximately 700 kilometers (435
miles) from the front line. A significant achievement,” Ukrainian
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on social media on Sunday.
Drone debris also set fire to a fuel depot in Russia’s southwestern
Rostov region, which borders Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine, Gov.
Yuriy Slyusar reported on Telegram on Sunday. He said residents of
nearby homes were evacuated.
Ukraine's General Staff on Sunday confirmed its forces were behind the
strike on the facility in the town of Matveev Kurgan. Local authorities
said a drone strike on the depot had caused a large-scale fire across a
wide area.
According to its General Staff, Ukraine also struck the Lazarevo pumping
station in Russia's Kirov region northeast of Moscow, more than 1,200
kilometers (745 miles) from Ukrainian-controlled land. The station helps
ship Russian oil from Siberia to Belarus.
Regional Gov. Alexander Sokolov said drones had hit a facility in the
Kirov region, without giving further details.
Russia says a Ukrainian drone struck a nuclear plant
Kyiv denied that a Ukrainian drone struck the Zaporizhzhia nuclear
plant, Europe’s largest. Russia’s state nuclear energy company, Rosatom,
said on Saturday that the drone exploded after tearing a hole in the
wall of a turbine hall. Rosatom’s CEO Alexei Likhachev accused Ukraine
of a deliberate attack.
“This afternoon, a Ukrainian kamikaze combat drone struck the turbine
hall building of Power Unit No. 6, resulting in a detonation,” Likhachev
said. He added there was no damage to main equipment.
Ukraine’s military said it did not target or strike the plant,
describing the Russian claim as “yet another propaganda ploy.” A
military statement said that it adheres to international humanitarian
law and is aware of the "consequences of any actions targeting nuclear
facilities.”
Rafael Grossi, head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog — the International
Atomic Energy Agency — expressed “serious concern” in a post on X
following the incident.
The IAEA said in a statement Sunday that its inspectors at the plant
“observed damage to the exterior of a turbine building” that was
“consistent with the impact" of a drone. It gave no details of where the
drone may have come from, but said radiation levels at the site remained
normal. It added that its inspectors had requested access to the inside
of the turbine hall for further examination.
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Servicemen of Ukraine's defense intelligence set up drones against
Russian in an undisclosed location in Ukraine late Thursday, May 28,
2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Russian forces captured the Zaporizhzhia plant in the early weeks of
the war, and it remains close to the front lines in the southern
Zaporizhzhia region, one of four Russia has formally annexed despite
lacking full military control or international recognition for its
actions. The nuclear plant has repeatedly come under fire since
Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, sparking fears of a
nuclear accident. Moscow and Kyiv have blamed each other for
targeting the plant.
Zelenskyy claims Russia treats abducted Ukrainian children ‘as
combatants’
In an interview broadcast Sunday, Zelenskyy told CBS News’ “Face the
Nation” that Russia treats abducted Ukrainian children “essentially
as combatants,” claiming Kyiv has evidence they are being trained to
fight against fellow Ukrainians.
“They taught these children to hate their native country, to hate
(their) native people. And Ukrainians, can you imagine, such young
Ukrainians — young boys — come to the battlefield and kill (other)
Ukrainians,” he said.
He also alleged that Russians have separated abducted Ukrainian
siblings, adopting them out to different families, and offered to
trade some children for captured Ukrainian soldiers in prisoner
swaps.
“There are hundreds of examples of such steps by Russia,” Zelenskyy
said, without specifying what evidence his government had.
Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, tens of thousands of
children have been unlawfully deported or forcibly transferred to
Russia or Russian-held territories in eastern Ukraine.
Earlier this month, the European Union imposed sanctions on 16
officials accused of helping the abductions, claiming many children
had their identities changed or were put up for adoption.
Sanctions were also slapped on seven centers suspected of
indoctrinating the children or training them to serve in the armed
forces, either for Russia or pro-Russian militias inside Ukraine.
The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for
Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes, accusing him of
personal responsibility for the abductions.
Deadly drone attacks continue
Elsewhere, Ukraine’s air force said Sunday that it had shot down 212
of 299 drones launched by Russia overnight. It said 14 drones had
reached their targets, while drone debris fell in five locations.
A truck driver died early on Sunday as drones hit a parking lot in
Ukraine’s northern Chernihiv region, according to local
administration head Vyacheslav Chaus.
Russian drones struck the city of Dnipro and an oil refinery in
Ukraine’s Rivne region, causing fires, authorities said. The head of
the Dnipropetrovsk region, of which Dnipro is the capital, said
later on Sunday that one person was killed and nine were injured in
Russian attacks in the province.
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