Ukrainian military claims it attacks large Russian oil refineries, electronics plants
The Ukrainian military said on Saturday that it attacked oil facilities in Russia, including a major refinery, a military airport for drones and an electronics factory.
Ukraine’s unmanned systems forces said in a statement on the telegram that they had attacked the oil refinery in Lesan, about 180 kilometers southeast of Moscow, causing a fire on its house.
The USF said it was also hit, the Annanefteprodukt oil storage facility in the Voronezh region bordering northeastern Ukraine.
The statement does not specify a facility’s strike method, but the USF specializes in drone warfare, including long-range strikes.
Russia did not immediately respond to reported attacks on infrastructure attacks, but the Ministry of Defense said air defense intercepted or destroyed 112 drones in eight Russian regions and the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula.
Acting Governor Yuri Slyusar said a drone attack in the Rostov region on the border with Ukraine killed a person.
Regional Governor Oleg Melnichenko said a woman was killed and two others were injured during a strike in a commercial site in the Pensa area. Regional Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev said that in the Samara region, falling drone debris triggered a fire.
The Russian Defense Ministry said in a daily report on Saturday that its defense force shot down a total of 338 Ukrainian drones overnight. Its report does not say how many Ukrainian drones were launched at any given time. The Ukrainian Air Force said it had 45 of the 53 Russian drones it launched on its territory overnight.
Ukraine says dozens of Russian drones have been launched
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia launched 53 drones and baits in Ukraine overnight on Saturday. It said air defense shot down or blocked 45 drones.
Governor Oleh Syniehubov said on Saturday that 11 people were injured in a one-night drone strike in the Kharkif region.
Rescue workers were on the scene of a deadly Russian attack Thursday after a batch of drones and missiles hit the apartment block.
Russian drone and missile strikes killed 31 people, including five children and injured more than 150 people, and reciprocity drones strikes after a day of mourning in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Friday.
Ukraine’s SBU intelligence agency said its drones attacked Russia’s Primorsko-Akhtarsk military airport, which has been used to launch long-range drones in Ukraine’s Targets.
SBU said it also attacked a factory in Penza, which he said provided electronics to Russia’s military industrial complex.
At the beginning of the full Russian invasion in 2022, Ukraine did not respond to Moscow’s huge long-range strike capability, but since then it has built a long-range Kamikaz drone capable of carrying hundreds of kilometers of explosive warheads.
Russian troops occupied the village of Orksdro Kalinov in the Donetsk region on Saturday on the eastern battlefield of Ukraine. The Russian Defense Ministry said.
Reuters was unable to verify the battlefield report immediately.
Despite comments from U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday, the attack continued until August 8, when the deadline for Russian President Vladimir Putin was shorter than the 50 days Trump initially mentioned to achieve peace with Ukraine.
Trump said Thursday that special envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Russia to prompt Moscow to agree to a ceasefire and threaten new economic sanctions if progress is not made.
Russian troops now reportedly control nearly 20% of Ukraine in the eastern and southern regions after the war ended.
