Ukraine carries out further overnight strikes on Russian energy sector
Ukraine’s armed forces have reportedly struck and damaged Russia’s Volgograd oil refinery overnight into Thursday, as Kyiv intensifies its campaign targeting the Kremlin’s energy infrastructure, which it says funds Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Photos and videos have circulated on the Telegram messaging platform, with residents reporting seeing incoming drones and rockets heading toward the Volgograd refinery and active air defences in the early hours of Thursday.
A residential building and several homes were damaged in the attack, Volgograd region Governor Andrey Bocharov reported, adding that one person was killed.
"A civilian, a 48-year-old man, died as a result of shrapnel from the shelling," wrote Bocharov in a post on his official Telegram channel.
The Volgograd governor also confirmed that a fire broke out in the industrial Krasnoarmeysky district. The refinery is located approximately 450 kilometres from Ukrainian-controlled territory, in Kramatorsk in the eastern Donetsk region.
The refinery, operated by Russian oil giant Lukoil, plays a key role in supplying fuel to the Russian military, particularly to active units in Ukraine's Donbas, the most active frontline in Russia’s almost four-year-long full-scale invasion.
The facility has been targeted by Ukrainian forces in the past and was forced to halt production on at least one occasion after sustaining critical damage.
Meanwhile, reports have also been circulating about another Ukrainian attack, targeting the thermal energy power plant in Volgorechensk, Kostroma region, which local Russian telegram accounts say was rocked by drone attacks.
The plant is roughly 750 kilometres from Ukraine’s easternmost troops, displaying Kyiv’s significant strike range inside Russia.
There were also reports of additional strikes against Russian energy institutions, including an oil depot in the annexed Crimean Peninsula.
The depot was struck in Bitumne near Simferopol, which also plays a key role in supplying fuel to nearby Russian forces and units.
Russia's war continues
The Ukrainian military has yet to comment on its recent wave of attacks. The attacks however are part of an overall strategy of “bringing the war to ordinary Russians” in ways that do not risk their lives.
Ukraine has previously stated that targeting energy facilities will affect ordinary citizens and possibly spark domestic pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war and engage in peace efforts and talks aimed at instating an immediate ceasefire.
Meanwhile, Russian attacks are continuing to target Ukrainian cities. Eight people were injured and several fires were sparked in the city of Kamianske in Dnipropetrovsk region amid overnight Russian drone attacks.
"The enemy launched a large-scale drone attack on Kamianske. Eight people have been injured. Several fires have broken out in the city. The roof and ceilings in one of the entrances of a four-storey building were partially destroyed,” said Vladyslav Haivanenko, acting head of Dnipropetrovsk region Military Administration.
Haivanenko added that the attack targeted mainly civilian infrastructure, noting that many residential properties and vehicles were destroyed in the strikes.
Russian attacks in Ukraine have shown no sign of slowing down despite global efforts led by US President Donald Trump to end the war Moscow started in February 2022.