Ukraine’s SBU hits Russia’s Volgograd oil refinery in drone attack- source

Two Ukrainian drones struck a primary oil processing facility at the Volgograd oil refinery in southern Russia on Saturday in an operation conducted by the SBU security service, a Ukrainian source told Reuters.

Local authorities in Russia said earlier that a fire had been extinguished at the large refinery following a drone attack. The refinery is owned by oil producer Lukoil LKOH.MM.

The strike is the latest in a series of Ukrainian drone attacks targeting Russian oil facilities in recent weeks, infrastructure that Kyiv sees as important for the Kremlin’s war effort.

The source in Kyiv told Reuters such drone attacks would continue.

“By hitting oil refineries working for the Russian military-industrial complex, we not only cut off the logistics of fuel supplies for enemy equipment, but also reduce the filling of the Russian budget,” the source said.

The distance from the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv near the Russian border and the southern Russian city of Volgograd is more than 600km.

Russia has been conducting regular long-range missile strikes on targets in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion, prompting Kyiv to scramble for a way it can close the gap on Moscow’s more advanced military technology.

It has sought to spur innovation in drone technology and to support the production of long-range drones to allow Ukraine to strike back.