Ukrainian forces conducted long-range strikes on two major Russian oil refineries overnight into Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced via Telegram. The targeted facilities were the Bashneft-Novoil refinery in Bashkortostan, located over 800 miles from Ukraine, and the Slavneft-Yanos refinery in the Yaroslavl region, approximately 435 miles from the Ukrainian border.
"Today, our long-range sanctions once again proved effective in limiting Russia's oil profits, which it uses to finance the war and the killing of Ukrainians," Zelenskyy stated. He also reported that Ukrainian forces struck "two military patrol boats and vessels of the shadow fleet" in the Black Sea. Zelenskyy added, "Thank you to all the soldiers of the Defense Forces who are systematically developing our long-range capabilities, thereby increasing our chances for diplomacy. Russia must choose peace."
In the Yaroslavl region, Governor Mikhail Yevrayev reported that air defenses intercepted 93 Ukrainian drones. He stated that four individuals sustained injuries from shrapnel. Yevrayev also confirmed a "a hit on storage tanks at a refinery," attributing the incident to falling drone debris and noting that emergency services were working to extinguish a fire.
The Yaroslavl refinery is described as one of Russia's largest, with a reported annual processing capacity of about 15 million metric tons, equivalent to roughly 300,000 barrels per day.
Russia's Defense Ministry claimed its forces downed over 605 Ukrainian drones overnight, with targets including areas around the capital, Moscow. Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin reported that air defenses intercepted at least five drones approaching the city.
Concurrently, Russia continued its own long-range strike operations against Ukraine. Ukraine's air force reported on Thursday that Moscow launched 101 drones and four missiles into the country overnight, with 66 drones being shot down or otherwise neutralized. Twenty-nine drones and one missile reportedly impacted across 18 locations within Ukraine.
In Ukraine's southern port city of Odessa, local officials reported that at least one person was killed and three others were injured in a Russian attack on a ship carrying wheat. In Kharkiv, a city in northeastern Ukraine near the Russian border, officials stated that Russian attacks, including one targeting a train station, resulted in at least five deaths and several injuries.
Russia's Defense Ministry stated via Telegram that its strikes targeted "fuel and energy infrastructure, transportation infrastructure, logistics centers used in the interests of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, storage sites for strike drones, as well as temporary deployment points for Ukrainian armed formations and foreign mercenaries."