Ukraine Drone Strikes Target Major Russian Oil Pipeline Station and Refineries

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Ukraine Drone Strikes Target Major Russian Oil Pipeline Station and Refineries

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The flag of Russia and Ukraine painted on a concrete wall with soldiers' shadows (© Shutterstock/Tomas Ragina)
The flag of Russia and Ukraine painted on a concrete wall with soldiers' shadows (© Shutterstock/Tomas Ragina)

Ukrainian long-range drones struck energy infrastructure deep inside Russian territory overnight, including a strategic oil pipeline pumping station and multiple fuel facilities, Russian and Ukrainian authorities said Sunday.

The coordinated overnight attacks represent an intensifying campaign by Kyiv to disrupt Moscow’s energy supply chains, hitting targets located hundreds of miles from the front lines of the four-year-old war.

Among the primary targets was the Lazarevo pumping station in the Kirov region, located roughly 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) northeast of Ukrainian-held territory.

The station services the Surgut-Gorky-Polotsk pipeline, a critical network that transports Russian crude oil from Siberia to Belarus. Kirov Gov.

Alexander Sokolov confirmed on Telegram that drones had hit a facility in the region but did not provide further details on the extent of the damage to the pipeline infrastructure.

Closer to the border, Ukrainian forces launched strikes against manufacturing and storage hubs. Ukraine’s General Staff confirmed a strike on the Saratov oil refinery along the Volga River, roughly 700 kilometers (435 miles) from the front, which sparked a large fire.

Saratov Gov. Roman Busargin acknowledged damage to "civil infrastructure."

"Our soldiers applied Ukraine's long-range sanctions against an oil refinery in Saratov," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.

Further south in Matveyev Kurgan, a town in the Rostov region bordering Ukraine's Donbas, local authorities reported a major fire at a fuel depot following a drone strike.

Meanwhile, governors in the Voronezh and Belgorod border regions also reported damage, with three civilian injuries documented in Belgorod. On the Russian-controlled Crimean Peninsula, Moscow-appointed Governor Sergei Aksyonov announced restrictions on gasoline sales without specifying a reason.

Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed its air defense systems intercepted and downed 216 Ukrainian drones during the overnight raids, suggesting that not all of the unmanned aerial vehicles reached their intended targets.

Kyiv has systematically expanded its domestic drone program to strike deep into Russian territory, specifically targeting refineries, storage depots, and pipeline logistics to degrade Moscow's economic and military capabilities.