Ukraine says it struck two Russian refineries as Zelensky warns on air defenses

Kyiv said long-range drone attacks hit refineries in Bashkortostan and Yaroslavl, while Zelensky said Ukraine's air defense supplies are down two-thirds from last year amid rising casualties near Kyiv.

Summary

Ukraine said its military struck two Russian oil refineries in long-range drone attacks, as President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv's air defense system supplies have fallen by two-thirds from last year. Zelensky said the strikes hit the Bashneft-Novoil refinery in Bashkortostan and the Slavneft-Yanos refinery in Russia's Yaroslavl region, part of a campaign against energy infrastructure that Ukraine says helps fund Moscow's war effort. In the Yaroslavl region, Governor Mikhail Evraev said air defense and electronic warfare destroyed 93 drones in the region's largest-ever drone attack; falling debris hit refinery storage tanks and four people were injured. Separately, in the Kyiv region, 16 people were reported killed and 36 injured. Russia's Defense Ministry said it damaged three ships near Odessa and disrupted logistics hubs in Kyiv and surrounding areas. French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said pressure on Russia would continue to increase, and von der Leyen said an additional 1.4 billion euros would be directed to Ukraine from profits generated by frozen Russian assets.

Terms & Concepts
  • Electronic warfare: Military systems used to disrupt, jam or interfere with attacks and communications.
  • Ballistic missile interceptors: Air defense missiles designed to detect and destroy incoming ballistic missiles.
  • Frozen Russian assets: Russian state-linked assets immobilized by Western sanctions, with profits in some cases earmarked to support Ukraine.