Ukrainian forces attacked an oil refinery in the Russian city of Ryazan and an oil depot in occupied Luhansk during the night of 5 September, Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, said.

The Ryazan Oil Refinery, one of Russia’s four largest refineries, was struck by Ukraine’s 14th Unmanned Systems Regiment together with Special Operations Forces, Main Intelligence Directorate, and other Defense Forces components. The same regiment targeted the Luhansk oil depot.

Russian Telegram channel Astra earlier cited eyewitnesses reporting that the Ryazan refinery was burning following drone strikes. Ryazan region governor Pavel Malkov claimed that eight drones were shot down over the region overnight, with debris falling on an industrial facility.

Russian media and Telegram channels reported a large fire in occupied Luhansk on the evening of 4 September. The strike reportedly hit a key oil depot that supplies fuel to Russian forces.

Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian oil refineries have occurred regularly since the beginning of 2024. Some facilities have sustained damage to primary oil processing units requiring repairs.

Ukraine’s General Staff has confirmed most attacks, stating that the Defense Forces “systematically implement measures aimed at reducing the combat potential of Russian occupation forces, as well as forcing the Russian Federation to cease armed aggression against Ukraine.”

Russian forces launched a drone attack on oil terminals belonging to Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR in Odesa Oblast overnight on 18 August, triggering a major fire at the fuel infrastructure facility, according to regional officials.

Odesa Oblast Governor Oleh Kiper said that despite active air defense operations, the attack resulted in significant damage in the Odesa district.

A fire broke out at a fuel and energy infrastructure facility and a two-story building in the suburbs of Odesa, according to Kiper.

Former Deputy Prosecutor General Gunduz Mamedov identified the target as SOCAR’s oil terminals in a social media post. Sources within Ukraine’s State Emergency Service told Ukrainska Pravda that 10 drones were used in the attack on the Azerbaijani facility.

The emergency response involved over 100 personnel, including rescuers, volunteers, National Guard firefighters, and local fire brigade teams. Ukrainian Railways deployed a fire train to assist with extinguishing the blaze.

Preliminary reports indicate no casualties or injuries resulted from the attack.

This marks the second strike on SOCAR facilities in Odesa Oblast within 10 days. On 8 August, Russian forces hit the same oil depot with five Shahed-type drones, causing fires and damaging a diesel fuel pipeline.

The overnight assault was part of a broader Russian attack involving four missiles and 140 drones targeting multiple Ukrainian oblasts. Ukraine’s Air Force reported that air defense systems shot down or suppressed 88 Russian drones across northern, southern, eastern, and central areas of the country by 9:00 am.

The attacks resulted in confirmed strikes at 25 locations across Donetsk, Kharkiv, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, and Kyiv oblasts.

The Russian military regularly attacks Ukrainian oblasts with various types of weapons, killing civilians and destroying hospitals, schools, kindergartens, energy and water supply facilities. The Ukrainian authorities and international organisations qualify these strikes as war crimes by Russia and emphasise that they are of a targeted nature.

Overnight on 18 August, Russian forces also attacked residential building in Kharkiv, killing five people, including two children.