Ukraine Attacks Russia's Main Oil Refinery With Drones

Ukrainian drone forces on the battlefield. (Wikimedia Commons/Obviously

JAKARTA - Ukraine launched a massive offensive with at least 361 drones targeting Russia, triggering a brief fire at the Kirishi oil refinery in northwestern Russia, Russian officials said on Sunday, reporting no injuries.

In the midst of talks about world powers about how to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two, drone warfare has escalated, with the fall of Russian drones in Poland which are NATO members and Ukraine's attacks on oil pipelines and pipelines in Russia, Russia's second-largest oil exporter in the world.

Russia's Defense Ministry said at least 361 drones had been shot down by Russian air defense systems, including four guided aerial bombs and a US-made HIMARS missile.

However, the ministry did not provide details about the location of the attack.

Surgutneftez's Kirinferteorgsintetez refinery, one of Russia's two largest refineries, was among the targets attacked by Ukrainian drones, Russian officials said.

Alexander Drozdenko, governor of the Leningrad region, said three drones were destroyed in the Kirishi region and the fires triggered by the falling debris had been extinguished. He said no one was injured.

Ukraine's drone command confirmed its attack on oil refineries and said it had "conducted successful attacks."

Reuters could not immediately verify the scale of the damage, if any, at the oil refinery.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in his evening video address, praised Kyiv's military and special service for a series of long-range attacks on Russian oil installations.

"The most effective sanctions that succeed the fastest are the shooting of Russian oil refineries, their terminals, and their oil depots," President Zelensky said.

"The sanctions have significantly restricted Russia's oil industry, and this significantly limits war," he continued.

President Zelensky specifically highlighted last week's attack on Russia's northeastern Primorsk port for the first time which he said had caused "significant damage. It has been verified."

Kirishi processes around 17.7 million metric tons of Russian crude oil per year (355,000 barrels per day), or 6.4 percent of the country's total production.

Separately, oil companies in Russia's Bashkortostan region will maintain production levels despite a drone strike on Saturday, the regional governor, Radiy Khabirov, said.