Ukraine strikes Russian oil refinery near Moscow

On Wednesday, Ukraine escalated its drone assaults on Russian energy infrastructure by targeting an oil refinery in Ryazan, located south of Moscow. This operation is part of Ukraine’s ongoing strategy to strike deep within Russian territory, focusing on industrial sites such as factories and oil refineries, as the conflict between the two nations persists.

Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence confirmed the use of a UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) in the early hours of May 1 to carry out the strike on the Ryazan oil refinery. The attack occurred around 2:00 am local time (2300 GMT), according to a statement released to AFP by Ukraine’s special services.

Pavel Malkov, the governor of Ryazan, acknowledged the drone attack on the region but reported no casualties in his announcement via Telegram.

Ryazan is approximately 190 kilometers (120 miles) southeast of Moscow. Footage circulating on social media captured an explosion and subsequent smoke billowing into the sky during the nighttime attack.

The targeted facility is owned by Rosneft, Russia’s oil giant, and is listed on the company’s website as having an annual processing capacity of 17.1 million tons of oil.