Fire Reported at Russian Refinery Following Drone Raid as Strikes Target Ukrainian Regions

A drone attack overnight triggered a fire at the Afipsky oil refinery in Russia's Krasnodar Krai region, while Russian forces launched more than 200 drones across Ukrainian territory, killing one person and injuring three others, according to local officials and military updates. The strikes mark a continuation of aerial attacks targeting energy infrastructure on both sides of the conflict.

Images published on social media platforms showed smoke rising from the Afipsky facility following the overnight raid. According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the refinery possesses an annual processing capacity of approximately 6.25 million tonnes of oil. Ukrainian intelligence sources stated that the facility contributes to supplying fuel for Russian military operations.

Kyiv resumed targeted strikes on Russian refining facilities last week, after a brief hiatus. The attacks on energy infrastructure form part of Ukraine's broader effort to disrupt fuel production and strain financial resources supporting the Russian war effort since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. US President Donald Trump attributed rising global diesel prices to Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries. Russian authorities have not issued an official statement regarding the incident at the Afipsky plant.

Concurrently, the Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russian forces launched 227 attack drones towards Ukrainian targets overnight into Friday morning. Ukrainian defense systems shot down or neutralised 196 of the incoming unmanned aerial vehicles, including 70 jet-powered Shahed variants as well as Gerber models, according to an operational update issued at 8 a.m.

In Rivne Oblast, head of the military administration Oleksandr Koval stated that one man was killed during a morning attack. Strikes in the Boryspil district of Kyiv Oblast left three people injured, according to regional military administration head Timur Tkachenko. Tkachenko reported via Telegram that the strikes completely destroyed a residential home and an adjacent building, while also damaging energy infrastructure facilities in the districts of Bila Tserkva and Obukhiv.

Written by Thorben Thiede thorben.thiede@alpineweekly.com