A blaze has broken out at an oil refinery in Russia’s Ryazan Region as a result of a major overnight Ukrainian drone attack, local governor Pavel Malkov has written on Telegram.
In recent days, Kiev has continued its strikes on Russian energy infrastructure despite US President Donald Trump’s attempts to broker an “energy truce.”
A warehouse and several vehicles belonging to another local enterprise were also damaged during the raid, Malkov said.
However, there were no casualties, according to preliminary information, the governor stressed. The extent of damage is currently being assessed, with emergency services working in the affected areas, he added.
The Russian Defense Ministry said in a later statement that the Ukrainian attack on an oil refinery in Ryazan Region occurred between 4 AM and 7 AM local time.
A total of four long-range Flamingo cruise missiles and 69 fixed-wing UAVs, fired by Kiev, had been shot down by air defenses and military aircraft, the statement read.
The fire at the facility had been caused by the debris of an intercepted drone, the ministry said.
Two oil refineries – in Ryazan and Saratov Regions – were targeted by Ukrainian drones on Wednesday, according to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak.
Ukraine has continued to launch long-range attacks on Russia despite Trump’s attempts to increase pressure on Vladimir Zelensky to halt refinery strikes, which he blames for surging energy prices.
In order to alleviate the situation, the US president eased restrictions on Russia’s diesel exports following a phone call with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, last week.
Trump accused Zelensky of seeking to “make problems” for the US and the whole world by attacking Russian oil refineries and suggested that Ukraine needed a “new president.”
“He goes and hits the diesel fuel. He can do whatever he wants, but he can’t do that. He’d better damn well stop,” the US president said.
On Tuesday, Zelensky confirmed reports that the US had threatened to stop sharing intelligence with Kiev if it kept ignoring Trump’s demands. This week, Ukrainian officials also complained about receiving no advance warning from the Americans before Russian missile strikes as well as about problems with Starlink; the satellite internet service is used by Kiev’s troops for communications and controlling drones.
Zelensky blamed Trump for “betrayal” of Ukraine and suggested that the actual reason for the global energy shortage was the US war on Iran.
Following Trump’s claim on Sunday that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an immediate energy ceasefire, the Ukrainian leader said the announcement “was news” for him, but expressed a readiness to halt attacks if Russia does the same.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated that Russia seeks a long-term settlement of the Ukraine conflict rather than a temporary truce. However, he confirmed that consultations between Moscow and Kiev on a possible energy ceasefire have been ongoing.