Ukrainian drones hit the Syzran oil refinery more than 800km (500 miles) inside Russia, setting it on fire, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday. The Ukrainian president posted a video of the aftermath. Russia’s independent Astra news outlet said Ukrainian drones struck the Syzran refinery owned by oil and gas company Rosneft. The governor of Russia’s Samara region, Vyacheslav Fedorishchev, said two people were killed by Ukrainian drones in Syzran, but he did not mention the refinery.
Ukrainian drones hit another refinery the previous day, Zelenskyy said. “Overall, our long-range plan for May is being carried out largely in full. The key targets are Russian oil refineries, storage facilities and other infrastructure tied to these oil revenues.” The escalating attacks have hurt Moscow’s revenue at the same time as the economic pinch of international sanctions. With some attacks reaching more than 1,500km (900 miles) into Russia, the strikes have contributed to some Russians feeling unsafe and heaped pressure on the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.
Ukrainian forces have pushed back Russian troops along parts of the frontline, making their most significant battlefield gains since 2024, according to the Institute for the Study of War. Ukraine’s “intensified midrange strike campaign” since early 2026 “has also degraded Russian forces’ ability to conduct offensive operations across the theatre and has also likely supported recent Ukrainian advances”, the US thinktank said in an assessment on Wednesday.
