KYIV — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced Sunday that Ukraine carried out overnight strikes against two Russian oil refineries, one located in the Krasnodar region and another in the Yaroslavl region, as part of Kyiv’s expanding drone campaign targeting Russia’s fuel infrastructure.
Ukraine’s growing use of drone strikes has been creating serious fuel supply problems in parts of Russia — one of the largest oil-producing nations in the world — with drivers facing long lines and fuel rationing at gas stations.
“We continue our operations that weaken Russia’s ability to wage this war,” Zelenskiy wrote on social media. He noted that the two refineries were located approximately 300 kilometers and 700 kilometers from Ukrainian territory — roughly 190 miles and 430 miles respectively.
The governor of the Krasnodar region, Veniamin Kondratiev, confirmed via Telegram on Sunday that a fire had broken out at the refinery in Slavyansk-na-Kubani. He reported that one person was killed and another was injured in a nearby village. Unverified video circulating on social media appeared to show a large blaze at the facility.
The Slavyansk refinery is a privately owned operation capable of processing around 100,000 barrels of oil per day, supplying fuel for both domestic consumption and export.
Further north, in the Yaroslavl region east of Moscow, the regional governor confirmed that area also came under drone attack. As a precaution, temporary movement restrictions were put in place on certain road routes leading to the Russian capital.
