New Delhi: Ukraine launched long-range drone strikes deep inside Russia overnight, targeting oil refineries and military assets, according to the Associated Press. The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said the strikes were aimed at weakening Russia’s wartime economy.
Ukrainian officials said they struck an oil refinery in Bashkortostan, about 1,300 kilometres from the front line, and another in Yaroslavl, roughly 700 kilometres from the Ukrainian border. Kyiv also claimed to have hit two Russian military patrol boats and vessels belonging to Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, used to move oil while evading Western sanctions.
Russian authorities acknowledged an attack on the refinery in Yaroslavl, where the regional governor, Mikhail Yevrayev, said drone debris struck oil storage tanks, triggering a fire and damaging nearby residential buildings. Russia’s defence ministry, meanwhile, claimed its air defences intercepted 605 Ukrainian drones overnight.
The strikes come as Ukraine faces sustained Russian missile and drone attacks that continue to strain its air-defence network. According to AP, overnight Russian strikes killed at least three civilians and injured 22 others, with damage reported across the Kharkiv, Sumy, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.
Kyiv has repeatedly warned that it is running short of Patriot interceptor missiles, which it says remain the only reliable defence against Russia’s ballistic missile attacks. Zelenskyy said Ukraine is working with partner countries to secure additional interceptor missiles and strengthen its air defence capabilities.
The report noted that global supplies of Patriot interceptors have come under increasing pressure following the conflict involving Iran, making it more difficult for Ukraine’s allies to replenish Kyiv’s stocks.
Alongside the immediate battlefield situation, Zelenskyy said Ukraine is accelerating efforts to develop its own ballistic missile capability and an indigenous anti-ballistic missile-defence system. He expressed confidence that the programme would achieve significant progress over the next two years, while acknowledging challenges related to technology, manufacturing and critical components.
The Ukrainian president also said he had discussed additional air defence support with the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, and the Finnish president, Alexander Stubb, focusing on securing interceptor missiles from countries with available stockpiles.
The latest developments underscore the increasingly two-pronged nature of the conflict. While Ukraine continues expanding its long-range strike campaign against Russian energy infrastructure and military targets, Moscow has intensified missile and drone attacks aimed at overwhelming Ukraine’s already stretched air defences.
The escalating violence also drew international concern. The UN secretary-general, Antonio Guterres, condemned attacks by both Russia and Ukraine, warning that the growing number of strikes on populated areas was driving civilian casualties higher and increasing risks to regional shipping in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.