Ukraine has announced that it launched a major drone attack, targeting a Russian oil refinery and a microchip factory. The strike caused fires at the refinery's production facilities and an oil pumping station, News.az reports citing The Independent.
Other drones targeted numerous regions, including 20 drones in Ryazan region, southeast of Moscow, the Russian defence ministry said. Russian war blogger channels on the Telegram messaging app posted videos of what they described as large blazes in the city. They said an oil storage depot and a power station had been hit.The Ukrainian military said on Facebook that fires had broken out at the damaged refinery's production facilities and at an oil pumping station but did not make clear how serious the damage was.
Ukraine's military said it had also struck the Kremniy El microelectronics plant in Russia's Bryansk region, which Kyiv said produced components for Russian air defence missile systems, nuclear-capable missiles, and on-board electronics for combat aircraft.
Russia’s defence ministry claimed it had intercepted 121 drones targeting 13 regions, adding six drones had been destroyed over the Moscow region and one over the capital itself. The ministry did not disclose the extent of the damages or casualties.
The overnight strikes underline Ukraine's ability to hit targets deep inside Russia as the two sides try to strengthen their positions before any peace talks get under way following Donald Trump's return to the White House.
The US president has said he intends to bring a swift end to nearly three years of war in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday he was open to discussions with Trump on the Ukraine war, but that the question of negotiating with Ukraine was complicated by the fact that its president, Volodymyr Zelensky, had signed a decree preventing him from conducting talks with Putin.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that air defences had intercepted attacks by Ukrainian drones at four locations around the Russian capital.
“At the site where fragments fell, no damage or casualties occurred,” Sobyanin wrote on Telegram. “Specialist emergency crews are at the site.”
Russian news agencies quoted Rosaviatsiya, the federal aviation agency, as saying two Moscow airports, Vnukovo and Domodedovo, were handling flights after suspending operations for a time. Six flights were redirected to other airports.
