Ukraine reportedly hit a Russian oil refinery and targeted Moscow during an attack involving a wave of at least 121 drones, one of the largest single operations of its kind during the war. Video footage verified by the BBC shows a fireball rising over the refinery and pumping station in the Ryazan region, southeast of Moscow, which Ukrainian officials said was a target.
An oil refinery located 120 miles southeast of Moscow in Ryazan was one of the strategic sites targeted in a mass drone attack, reportedly carried out by Ukraine. The assault also targeted a microelectronics production facility in Bryansk, western Russia, suggesting a focus on locations supplying the Russian military. According to Pavel Malkov, the governor of the Ryazan region, emergency services were responding to the aftermath of the attack, which allegedly involved 20 drones.
Smolensk Governor Vasily Anokhin stated that Russian air defense systems "suppressed an attack by Ukrainian" drones in the Yartsevo district. Despite their efforts, debris from one of the drones fell on the oil depot, triggering a fuel spill and subsequent blaze. Emergency services quickly arrived at the scene, and Anokhin assured residents that there was "no threat" to nearby residential areas. Posting on X, Anton Geraschenko, a former adviser to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, said: "A massive drone attack on the military industry of Smolensk, Russia last night. "Local media report a fire at the territory of Smolensk aircraft plant and other objects. "The plant is involved into production and modernisation of military aircraft, including Su-25. It also repairs military aviation equipment." Russia's Defence Ministry reported the downing of 68 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 10 over the Smolensk region. Smolensk lies more than 100 kilometres (62 miles) north of Ukraine and borders Belarus. The latest attack follows a pattern of intensified drone strikes on Russian energy assets. Recent weeks have seen multiple explosions and fires at oil facilities in Bryansk and Krasnodar regions, as well as a strike on a gas pipeline in the Republic of Tatarstan.
