The sky turned red from the explosions. Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated US President Donald Trump on his birthday on 14 June, and almost immediately launched a strike on the Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk with Kinzhal hypersonic missiles. 

Russia was likely to target critical infrastructure, particularly the Kremenchuk Thermal Power Plant and oil refinery, which are both essential to Ukraine’s energy system and defense. The city lies on the Dnipro River and has important railway connections and major logistics hubs.

It is reported that energy and agricultural infrastructure facilities in six locations in Kremenchuk in Poltava Oblast were hit. Fires broke out due to direct strikes and falling debris, Liga.net reports. 

The attack rocked the Ukrainian city hours after Putin called Trump on his birthday to offer congratulations and discuss the situation in the Middle East and Ukraine. Their conversation lasted approximately one hour, according to Ukrainska Pravda. 

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According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia launched 194 aerial weapons — 167 were neutralized: 119 were shot down, and 48 are considered lost over Ukrainian territory.

Among the downed targets were:

• 111 drones,
• Two Kinzhal hypersonic missiles,
• Three Iskander-K cruise missiles
• Three Kalibr cruise missiles.

The Ukrainian air defense regularly intercepts Russian aerial targets, but debris still scatters over the homes and apartments of civilians. No casualties have been reported after the aerial assault. 

That’s about four times more drones than Iran launched at Israel in attacks beginning on 13 June, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty writes. At the same time, US troops assisted Jerusalem in repelling Tehran’s assault.

Ukrainian drones struck the Azot chemical plant in Tula Oblast linked to explosives production, marking the second attack on the facility in two weeks, overnight on 8 June. Yesterday, resumed Ukrainian attacks on oil processing facilities continued with a strike on a bitumen production site near a major oil refinery in Kstovo, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast.

Tula Oblast’s Azot chemical plant hit again

The Azot facility in Novomoskovsk, Tula Oblast, has increasingly become a target in Ukraine’s long-range drone operations due to its role in Russia’s defense production. 

On 8 June, Russian sources reported that drones targeted the Azot around 400 kilometers from Ukraine. The attack caused explosions and a fire at the plant, according to Russian pro-government Telegram channels, including VChK-OGPU, which stated shortly after midnight that that “an UAV hit the NK Azot pipe in Novomoskovsk” shortly past midnight.

Russian news Telegram channels Astra noticed that eyewitnesses reported hearing five to eight loud explosions. Citing local Telegram channels, Astra said the drones hit the Azot chemical plant, which produces substances used in the manufacture of explosives for artillery shells.

About 2:30 a.m., Tula Oblast governor Dmitry Milyaev confirmed the strike and the resulting fire, stating that it broke out after drone debris hit the site. In his official Telegram post, he added,

“The fire has been extinguished. No exceedance of permissible pollutant levels has been recorded. […] Two people were injured, but their lives are not at risk. Emergency services are working at the site.”

Ukrainian Telegram channel Exilenova+ suggested, based on available footage, that the strike on the Azot plant in Novomoskovsk likely hit the main pipeline access area, not the processing units themselves. In video reportedly filmed on-site, a worker says: “Basically, it hit a pipe — a gas one, a propane line.” The channel noted that further OSINT is needed for confirmation.

Second attack on Azot in weeks

This is the second drone strike on the plant in recent weeks. The previous attack occurred on 24 May, when drones hit a low-pressure gas pipeline in workshop No. 4, damaging two 750-ton nitric acid tanks. One tank leaked onto the ground, prompting a full shutdown of the facility. Governor Milyaev then reported damage to an acid storage unit during emergency response operations.

Fuel facility near Kstovo also struck

In the afternoon of 7 June, Ukrainian drones reportedly targeted another industrial site – JSC Bitumnoye Proizvodstvo bitumen plant – near the Lukoil refinery in Kstovo, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, about 800 km from Ukraine. Local Telegram channels shared video of the incident.

It remains unclear whether the bitumen plant or the refinery was the intended target.

The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations confirmed a major fire broke out, stating:

“According to updated information, bitumen production units with a total volume of 200 cubic meters are burning. A firefighting train has departed from the Zelecino station. More than 70 specialists and 26 pieces of equipment are involved in extinguishing the blaze.”

Resumed attacks on fuel facilities

Ukraine resumed its attacks against Russian fuel storage and processing facilities on 6 June after a few-month pause, by targeting the Rosrezerv’s Kristall fuel depot in Engels, Saratov Oblast, where aviation fuel for Russia’s strategic bombers is stored. Before that, the most recent attack of this kind occurred on 18 March, when Ukrainian drones targeted the Kavkaz oil transshipment terminal in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai.

After months, Ukraine resumes strikes on Russian fuel depots, targets airfields and military factories (video)

However, Militarnyi suggests that the Kristall strike “could have been part of the series of attacks on Russia’s long-range capabilities,” given it stores fuel for strategic aviation. However, the 7 June strike on the Kstovo plant removes ambiguity, as it “provides grounds to assert that Ukraine has resumed attacks on Russia’s oil industry,” the outlet wrote.

Two major industrial fires erupted in Russia on 7 June, with blazes at facilities in Kstovo and Pushkino, prompting large-scale emergency responses and raising questions about the causes of the incidents.

In Kstovo, located in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, a bitumen production plant with a capacity of about 200 cubic meters caught fire, according to local emergency services. The facility is situated near the Lukoil oil refinery, one of Russia’s ten largest petroleum processing plants by design capacity.

The area of the fire reached 20,000 square meters, there is a threat of new explosions. Emergency services deployed over 100 rescuers and approximately 35 units of equipment, including a fire train, to combat the blaze.

The Russian Emergency Ministry confirmed that gas cylinders exploded during the incident. Large bitumen storage tanks were burning, with the substance spreading across approximately 100 square meters, according to official statements.

Social media users initially suggested the fire resulted from a drone attack. However, Regional government press services later stated that the fire could have started due to safety violations. No casualties have been reported from the Kstovo incident as of 17:00 local time.

A fuel and lubricants warehouse also caught fire in Pushkino, a town in the Moscow Oblast. Over 50 rescuers and 12 vehicles are involved in firefighting efforts, according to emergency reports.

Russian media outlet Mash reported that the Pushkino facility contained flammable liquids stored in barrels, gas cylinders, and pallets. The fire area initially covered 8,100 square meters but expanded significantly throughout the day.

Both incidents occurred amid ongoing tensions, with the Kstovo Oblast having experienced previous attacks earlier in 2025. In January, Ukrainian intelligence reportedly struck a Lukoil oil depot in the same town, and a Sibur petrochemical plant in Kstovo suspended shipments following what the company described as a Ukrainian drone strike.

The Lukoil refinery in Kstovo processes petroleum products that support Russian military operations, making it a strategically significant facility. The refinery has a processing capacity of 17 million tons annually and is located approximately 800 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.