Ukrainian drones have conducted an airstrike on an oil refinery in Russia’s Tyumen region, located over 1,200 miles away from the Ukrainian border, according to Volodymyr Zelensky. The Ukrainian president commended the military’s special operations for successfully reaching the region in Western Siberia, emphasizing the efficiency of the mission. He also highlighted Ukraine’s advancement in developing new, updated long-range drones capable of operating at distances exceeding 1,800 miles.
Reports from the governor of Tyumen Region, Alexander Moor, stated that Russian air defenses thwarted the drone attack on the oil refinery, with no reported damage and the evacuation of staff as a precautionary measure.
The Tyumen refinery, known for its advanced technology, has an annual nominal capacity of about 8 million metric tonnes. It processes approximately 6 million tonnes of crude oil each year, yielding around 0.5 million tonnes of petrol and 2.5 million tonnes of diesel, as per industry estimates cited by Reuters.
In a significant development, fragments of oil descended on parts of Moscow following Ukraine’s strike on a major oil refinery, marking the largest drone attack on the Russian capital since the initiation of the full-scale conflict.
Ukrainian strikes targeted the Moscow Oil Refinery, situated just nine miles from the Kremlin, resulting in “oil rain” – contaminated rain – falling in various areas of the Moscow region, including the Zheleznodorozhny and Lyuberetsky districts.
Although images and videos depicted vehicles and windows covered in black specks, Moscow authorities denied the occurrence of any “oil rain.”
Approximately 200 drones carried out attacks in the region, leading to an incident where a drone crashed into a residential building in the Zhukovsky district. Additionally, debris from another strike caused a fire at a shopping center on the outskirts of the capital, resulting in injuries to seventeen individuals across the region, as reported by local governor Andrei Vorobyov.
In a separate incident, a Ukrainian drone strike in Russia’s southern Rostov region resulted in one fatality and at least two injuries, according to local governor Yury Slyusar.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky characterized the strikes as a “fully justified response” to Russian assaults on Ukraine in a social media post. This marked the second strike on the refinery by Kyiv this week and the third within a month.
The closure of Moscow’s four airports for several hours led to numerous flight delays. Sheremetyevo International Airport, the busiest in the country, evacuated passengers to secure locations during the drone attack before resuming operations around 11 am local time.
Mayor Sergei Sobyanin of Moscow reported that Russian air defenses intercepted approximately 180 drones approaching Moscow, while the defense ministry indicated that over 500 Ukrainian drones were intercepted nationwide overnight.
Kyiv has escalated its drone strikes on Russia in recent months, targeting oil refineries that support Moscow’s war efforts, as diplomatic negotiations to end the long-standing conflict remain deadlocked.