Ukrainian drones strike Russian refineries and Sevastopol again

Ukrainian drones attacked a petrochemical plant overnight in the city of Salavat in Bashkortostan, about 1,400 km from the border, and also struck a refinery in southwestern Russia, media and officials report. Russian air defences shot down nearly 300 Ukrainian drones overnight, the Russian defence ministry said.

Bashkortostan Governor Radiy Khabirov reported on social media that a large-scale attack on an industrial zone in Salavat had been repelled, with debris from downed drones causing fires. There were no casualties or injuries. Khabirov did not specify which facility was targeted, but Ukrainian media report explosions and a fire at one of Russia’s largest petrochemical plants, Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat, which was targeted twice by Ukrainian drones last September. The company processed 7.2 million tonnes of oil the year before last, representing 2.7 percent of the total volume processed at Russian refineries, the RBK-Ukraine website noted.

Drones also caused a fire at the Afipsky refinery in Krasnodar Krai, one of the largest in southern Russia, media report, citing the regional emergency response centre. According to officials, drone debris injured one person elsewhere in Krasnodar Krai, the BBC News website reported.

It noted that attacks on refineries had caused a fuel crisis in Russian regions.

Part of Sevastopol in annexed Crimea was left without electricity after drone strikes on energy infrastructure, Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev announced. According to Kommersant, he had earlier reported that five drones had been shot down. There were no casualties or injuries.

The Russian defence ministry reported the destruction of 288 Ukrainian drones over 14 Russian regions, Crimea, the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea over the past night, the BBC News website said.

Kyiv aims to disrupt fuel supplies to the Russian army and reduce Moscow’s oil export revenues, which are important for financing the war, through strikes on refineries and other oil facilities. Ukraine also believes that public discontent in Russia over fuel shortages could help compel President Vladimir Putin’s government to negotiate an end to the war. The Kremlin has made a halt to the fighting conditional on Ukraine handing over the entire Donbas to Russia, including territory that the Russian army has been unable to capture since 2022. Kyiv rejects this and proposes stopping the fighting along the front line.