Ukraine intensified its drone campaign against Russia, igniting a major oil refinery in the south and killing at least two people, Russian officials reported on Sunday, while President Vladimir Putin declared the country was entering a “difficult period.”
Ukraine has significantly increased its long‑range strikes against Russian military‑industrial targets and energy facilities in recent months, aiming to curtail Moscow’s war finances and to make the Russian population feel the impact of the conflict.
The campaign has disrupted Russian fuel supplies and military logistics. Western analysts say it has also slowed Moscow’s battlefield operations, pressuring the Kremlin to consider negotiating a settlement.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky noted on Telegram that “our long‑range sanctions” now strike two Russian oil refineries. “Each strike diminishes the resources fueling the Russian war machine, advancing us toward peace,” he added.
Debris from Ukrainian drones ignited a blaze at the Slaviansk‑na‑Kubani refinery in Krasnodar, east of occupied Crimea, Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said. Falling debris killed one person in Slaviansk and injured another in a nearby village, local authorities reported.
The Slaviansk site is among the region’s largest refineries, handling approximately 4 million tonnes of crude annually, the operator’s website indicates. It also exports petroleum products, including fuel oil, naphtha, and marine fuel, through Russia’s Black Sea ports.