KYIV: Over the recent night, Ukrainian drones struck a Russian oil refinery and an apartment building, just hours before U.S. President Donald Trump was set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin for a crucial summit in Alaska.
Ukraine has turned its focus to hitting oil depots and refineries in Russia, claiming these long-range drone attacks are in response to Moscow’s regular bombardments of Ukrainian cities and critical energy infrastructure.
The Ukrainian military reported a successful strike on a significant oil refinery located in Syzran, a city in central Russia about 800 kilometers (500 miles) from the frontline. This refinery, part of the Rosneft system owned by the Russian state, plays a key role in producing aviation fuel for the Russian military.
Images shared on social media showed flames and smoke rising from the facility in the early hours of Friday.
In another attack, a drone strike on an apartment complex in the Kursk region near the Russian border resulted in one death and injuries to ten others, according to local officials. “A 45-year-old woman tragically lost her life at the scene,” said Governor Alexander Khinshtein in a video message.
Russian military actions have also persisted, with Ukrainian authorities reporting at least six civilians killed in various strikes in the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions over the past 24 hours.
As tensions rise, Ukraine has pledged to intensify its long-range operations against Russia, especially as Russia has escalated its missile and drone attacks on Ukraine in recent months.
This wave of attacks coincides with the upcoming talks between Trump and Putin, where Trump is advocating for a resolution to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, which began with Russia’s invasion in February 2022. Amid these discussions, Russia has made territorial advances, while Trump has suggested the possibility of land exchanges between the opposing nations. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was not invited to the Alaska summit, has firmly rejected this idea.
According to Russian military sources, Ukraine launched 53 drones in the recent night, while the Ukrainian air force claimed that Moscow fired 97 drones.
