Kyiv Struck as Ukraine Targets Russian Refineries, Shadow Fleet

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(Bloomberg) — A fire was sparked at Russia’s Ilsky oil refinery in the southern Krasnodar region by Ukrainian drone debris, injuring five people, the regional task force said on Saturday, as Russia and Ukraine exchanged overnight attacks including a large-scale missile barrage on Kyiv.  

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The Ilsky facility has been hit repeatedly since the early phase of Ukraine’s campaign against Russian energy infrastructure, most recently in July. The independent plant has a design capacity of about 6.6 million tons a year.

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In the Samara region, some 850 kilometers (530 miles) southeast of Moscow, Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev said an unspecified industrial enterprise was attacked by Ukrainian drones overnight. 

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Videos posted on social media claimed to show a fire near the Syzran refinery, another facility previously hit by Ukraine in recent months, though Russian officials didn’t identify the site.

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In all, Russia’s Defense Ministry said air defenses intercepted and destroyed 397 Ukrainian drones overnight and 83 more on Saturday morning. 

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Ukraine’s capital came under attack by ballistic missiles and drones overnight. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said fires were reported in several districts, including a possible blaze involving fuel tanks. Three people, including a child, were killed in the Kyiv region and three more were injured, including a child, said Tymur Tkachenko, head of the regional military administration. 

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Kyiv has become increasingly vulnerable to ballistic missile attacks as Ukraine runs short of Patriot interceptors, the main Western-supplied weapon it uses against such missiles, while new allied deliveries have lagged demand.

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Ukraine intercepted 135 out of 151 Russian drones overnight and none of the six ballistic missiles, Army’s General Staff said in statement. On Tuesday, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said it intercepted only 29 out of 195 launched ballistic missiles in July. 

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Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said a passenger train in Ukraine’s Sumy region was also attacked, with strikes in the Chernihiv and Dnipro regions as well. 

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“We urge partners to take concrete steps to strengthen Ukraine’s sky shield and increase the cost of prolonging this war for Moscow,” Sybiha said on X.  

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Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed a strike at a fuel depot in Kyiv and said another target over the overnight strikes was a plant producing parts for Ukrainian Flamingo missiles. Bloomberg News cannot independently verify these claims.

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Russia and Ukraine continued to exchange strikes on vessels in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, where their expanding naval war has already caused serious disruptions to oil and grain shipping routes.

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Ukraine said naval drones hit 12 more vessels from Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov during an operation between Aug. 1 and Aug. 8. It didn’t identify the attacked vessels.