JUNE 28, 2026
Ukraine drone strikes ignite Russian oil refinery and hit military infrastructure in overnight assault
Ukraine conducted a large-scale overnight drone assault on Russia, setting fire to a major oil refinery in Slavyansk-na-Kubani in the Krasnodar region and striking targets across multiple Russian regions. Russian authorities reported at least two people killed — one in Slavyansk and one in the Belgorod border region — with additional injuries reported. Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces shot down 213 Ukrainian drones during the night.
The overnight assault targeted the Slavyansk-na-Kubani refinery, one of southern Russia's largest facilities, which processes close to 4 million tons of crude oil per year and serves as a key source of fuel oil, naphtha, and marine fuel for export through Black Sea ports, according to the Associated Press. Falling drone debris sparked the blaze and killed one person in Slavyansk, with another injured in a nearby village, regional Gov. Veniamin Kondratyev reported.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated on Telegram that the strikes reached two oil refineries in Russia, describing them as "long-range sanctions" intended to reduce resources fueling Russia's military. Zelenskyy also said a second refinery in the Yaroslavl region, roughly 700 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, was hit, though Russian authorities in Yaroslavl made no immediate refinery-specific statement. The region's governor did report that roads between Moscow and Yaroslavl were temporarily closed due to drone activity, and Yaroslavl's airport briefly shut overnight, along with several others across southern and western Russia, according to Russia's civil aviation agency.
Russia simultaneously struck Ukraine overnight with 142 long-range drones and eight missiles, of which Ukraine's air force reported it shot down 125 drones and seven missiles.