Ukraine has recommenced its long-range drone strikes on Russian oil refineries, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirming a second hit on the Ufa refinery within a week. The Ufa facility, crucial for producing lubricants, is located over 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) from Ukraine. Additionally, a drone attack on July 29 caused a fire at a municipal enterprise in Ryazan, some 500 kilometers (300 miles) from Ukraine, where local authorities reported responding to a mass drone attack and confirmed a fire at an enterprise.
These recent strikes follow a previous attack on the Tyumen oil refinery in Western Siberia on July 25, which reportedly halted oil processing after a drone strike ignited a diesel hydrotreater and a high-octane gasoline production unit. The Tyumen refinery is situated over 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) from Ukraine. Other recent Ukrainian drone activity has targeted oil facilities in the Yaroslavl region (approximately 700 kilometers from the border) and the Republic of Udmurtia (about 1,300 kilometers away), as well as an oil export terminal in Russia’s Rostov region.
The renewed assault on Russian oil infrastructure comes as Russia grapples with significant fuel shortages across many regions. President Vladimir Putin recently acknowledged a "certain deficit" of fuel and pledged to increase protection for oil facilities and boost fuel output. Efforts to mitigate the crisis have included fuel rationing, with some regions, like Irkutsk in Siberia, limiting purchases to 50 liters per vehicle per day at state-run gas stations. Ukrainian officials frame these strikes as "long-range sanctions" aimed at weakening Russia's ability to fund its war efforts by disrupting key military and economic infrastructure.
