KYIV, Ukraine — One person died and three others sustained injuries when Ukrainian drones struck Russia’s southern Krasnodar region on Saturday, according to local authorities, marking another chapter in Ukraine’s ongoing campaign targeting military and energy facilities far inside Russian territory.
The drone wreckage ignited a blaze at a maritime terminal, according to local Gov. Veniamin Kondratyev. While he provided limited specifics, Russian media outlets indicated that a Black Sea export facility handling crude oil, petroleum products and liquefied gas in the village of Volna suffered damage.
Ukraine’s General Staff remained silent about the Krasnodar incident Saturday, though they confirmed their forces had successfully targeted an oil preparation and pumping facility during overnight operations in Russia’s Volgograd region, along with Russian-controlled territories in Ukraine’s Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.
This latest assault follows statements from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy regarding his nation’s forces striking multiple military and energy infrastructure locations deep within Russia, including a defense facility that he claimed manufactured components for Russian drones and missiles.
Speaking Wednesday, he revealed that Ukrainian FP-5 Flamingo long-range missiles had successfully struck the installation in Cheboksary, located in the Chuvashiya region, positioned more than 900 kilometers (560 miles) from active combat zones.
After more than four years since Russia launched its comprehensive invasion of Ukraine, the extensive 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) battle line has remained largely unchanged as drone swarms prevent significant territorial gains. Consequently, both nations have increasingly turned to long-distance strike operations.
Following Ukrainian attacks that ignited an oil facility in St. Petersburg and struck a nearby naval installation last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged to enhance air defense systems, as these incidents overshadowed a prominent economic forum in his home city.
In other developments, Russian strikes wounded nine individuals in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, igniting a local marketplace, regional officials reported.
According to regional head Oleksandr Hanzha’s Saturday Telegram post, Russia launched more than 20 attacks using drones and aerial bombs across three districts in the region. He noted that six people required hospitalization, including one man in critical condition.
