Ukraine continued its large-scale drone attacks on Russia overnight, triggering a fire at a major oil refinery in the country's south and leaving at least two people dead, Russian officials said on Sunday.
The latest strikes are part of Kyiv's strategy to target Russia's fuel and military supply network, aiming to weaken Moscow's war effort and increase pressure on the Kremlin to negotiate.
Russian authorities said debris from intercepted Ukrainian drones caused a fire at the oil refinery in Slavyansk-na-Kubani, located in the Krasnodar region, east of Russian-occupied Crimea. Regional Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said one person was killed in Slavyansk, while another was injured in a nearby village after falling drone debris.
Images and videos shared on Russian social media appeared to show thick black smoke rising from the refinery, although The Associated Press could not immediately verify the footage.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that Ukrainian forces carried out the attack on the Slavyansk refinery. He also claimed that another refinery in Russia's Yaroslavl region, about 700 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, was struck during the overnight operation.
"Tonight, our 'long-range sanctions' reached two oil refineries in Russia," Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram. "Each strike reduces the resources that fuel the Russian war machine and brings us one step closer to peace."
Ukraine has significantly expanded its long-range drone campaign in recent months, focusing on Russian energy facilities and military industries. Kyiv says the attacks are intended to reduce Russia's income from oil exports and disrupt supplies supporting its invasion, now in its fifth year.
The Slavyansk refinery is one of southern Russia's largest, processing nearly 4 million tons of crude oil annually, according to the operator's website. It also produces petroleum products for export through Black Sea ports, including fuel oil, naphtha and marine fuel.
Russian authorities did not immediately confirm Zelenskyy's claim about the strike in the Yaroslavl region. However, regional Governor Mikhail Evraev said several roads linking Moscow and Yaroslavl were temporarily closed because of what he described as a Ukrainian drone attack.
Russia's civil aviation agency also temporarily suspended operations at Yaroslavl Airport and several airports in southern and western Russia overnight.
In Russia's Belgorod border region, Ukrainian drone strikes killed one person and injured another, acting Governor Alexander Shuvayev said.
Russia's Defense Ministry said its air defenses destroyed 213 Ukrainian drones overnight over Russian territory, occupied Crimea, and the Black and Azov seas.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 142 long-range drones and eight missiles overnight. It said Ukrainian air defenses intercepted 125 drones and seven missiles.