Ukraine says it has hit a major Russian oil refinery with long-range
drones
[November 06, 2025]
By SAMYA KULLAB
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian drones struck a major oil refinery in
Russia’s Volgograd region for the second time in almost three months,
Ukraine’s general staff said Thursday. Russian officials did not confirm
the attack, although the local governor said drones started a fire at an
unspecified industrial facility in the region.
Ukraine’s general staff said in a statement that the attack took place
the previous day. The refinery is the largest producer of fuel and
lubricants in Russia’s Southern Federal District, processing more than
15 million tons of crude annually — about 5.6% of the country’s total
refining capacity, according to Ukrainian officials.
Russia and Ukraine have traded almost daily assaults on each other’s
energy infrastructure as U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to stop the nearly
four-year war make no impact on the battlefield.
Ukraine’s long-range drone strikes on Russian refineries aim to deprive
Moscow of the oil export revenue it needs to pursue its full-scale
invasion. Russia wants to cripple the Ukrainian power grid, seeking to
deny civilians access to heat, light and running water in what Kyiv
officials say is an attempt to “weaponize winter.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said foreign countries are
helping Kyiv in its efforts to keep the power grid operating amid
Russia’s onslaught.
“Practically every day, our power engineers, repair brigades, and the
State Emergency Service of Ukraine are carrying out restorations on-site
after attacks: hits keep occurring across various points, especially in
our communities, and especially near the Russian border and close to the
front,” Zelenskyy said late Wednesday.
Ukraine, meanwhile, has attempted to strike targets on Russian soil with
domestically developed long-range drones.
Ukrainian forces also struck three fuel lubricants facilities in the
Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula and a storage and assembly base for
Russia’s Shahed drones in an occupied area of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk
region, the general staff statement said.
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A Ukrainian serviceman of the 14th Separate Unmanned Aerial Systems
Regiment prepares a long-range drone An-196 Liutyi before takeoff in
undisclosed location, Ukraine, Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy
Maloletka, File)
In the Kostroma region northeast of Moscow, a Ukrainian aerial
attack hit unidentified “energy infrastructure facilities,” Gov.
Sergei Sitnikov said. There were no casualties and power supplies
were not disrupted, he said.
Unconfirmed media reports said the attack targeted a hydroelectric
power plant in the Kostroma region, one of the biggest in Russia.
The Russian Defense Ministry said Thursday its air defenses shot
down 75 drones overnight over multiple Russian regions and annexed
Crimea.
Russia, meantime, attacked the city of Kamianske in Ukraine’s
eastern Dnipropetrovsk region with drones overnight, injuring eight
people, the head of the regional military administration, Vladyslav
Haivanenko, said on his official Telegram channel.
Several fires broke out and the roof of a four-story building was
partially destroyed, he said.
The Russian military also continued its assault on Ukraine’s rail
infrastructure, causing delays and route changes in Ukraine’s
eastern regions of Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk and in the southern
Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine’s state-owned railway company
Ukrzaliznytsia said.
Russia attacked Ukraine with 135 drones of various types overnight
on Thursday, Ukraine’s air force said.
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