Ukraine says it has hit one of Russia’s largest oil refineries in the Volgograd region, marking the second such strike in less than three months and underscoring Kyiv’s growing ability to project force deep into Russian territory.
In a statement Thursday, Ukraine’s General Staff said long-range drones struck the Volgograd refinery — the biggest producer of fuel and lubricants in Russia’s Southern Federal District, processing more than 15 million tons of crude annually, roughly 5.6% of the country’s refining capacity.
Russian authorities did not officially confirm the attack, but the regional governor acknowledged that drones had sparked a fire at an industrial site. No casualties were reported.
The strike is part of a broader energy war between Moscow and Kyiv, as both sides target infrastructure critical to their opponent’s war effort.
Ukraine’s drone campaign aims to deprive the Kremlin of vital oil revenue, while Russia continues to hammer Ukraine’s power grid in what officials in Kyiv call an attempt to “weaponize winter.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said foreign partners are helping repair and fortify the grid amid daily bombardments.
“Practically every day, our engineers and emergency crews are carrying out restorations after attacks,” Zelenskyy said late Wednesday, noting that critical facilities near the Russian border remain under constant fire.
Ukraine’s intelligence service, GUR, also reported sabotage operations inside Russia. The Freedom of Russia Legion, an anti-Kremlin group, allegedly used Molotov cocktails to destroy control systems on dozens of locomotives used for transporting military cargo.
The claim could not be independently verified, and Russian officials have not commented.
In addition to the Volgograd strike, Ukrainian forces said they targeted three fuel storage facilities in occupied Crimea, a Shahed drone base in Donetsk, and energy infrastructure in Russia’s Kostroma region northeast of Moscow.
Local officials there said the attack caused a fire but did not disrupt electricity supply. Unconfirmed reports suggested the target may have been one of Russia’s largest hydroelectric power plants.
Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed its air defenses shot down 75 Ukrainian drones overnight, including over Crimea and several Russian regions.
Kyiv’s air force countered that Russia had launched 135 drones of its own against Ukrainian cities, one of which hit the Dnipropetrovsk region, killing one civilian and injuring eight others.
Analysts say Ukraine’s campaign reflects a strategic shift — away from the static front lines of the Donbas and toward deep strikes designed to undermine Moscow’s logistics, oil exports, and political confidence.
As the war nears its fourth year, the conflict’s new phase is being fought less over territory than over infrastructure — a shadow war where energy, supply chains, and endurance are as decisive as battlefield advances.
