Fatal Ukrainian drone hits Russian oil refinery

Kyiv, Ukraine — A Ukrainian drone attack killed a mother and her toddler in western Russia on Wednesday, local officials said, in a major overnight barrage that set an oil refinery ablaze and targeted a nuclear facility.

The attack over swathes of western Russia is the latest in a series of escalating aerial strikes between Russia and Ukraine, targeting energy and military facilities over nearly three years of war.

The assaults have intensified since Donald Trump won last year’s U.S. presidential election, with the Republican pushing for a swift end to the conflict.

"The most terrible thing happened as a result of a drone attack on a residential house -- a two-year-old child and his mother were killed," Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of Russia's Belgorod border region, said.

Another child and his father were also injured in the strike, he wrote on social media.

Russia's defense ministry said earlier it had downed 104 Ukrainian drones over western regions, including Kursk and Bryansk, with smaller numbers intercepted over Smolensk, Tver, Belgorod, and elsewhere.

Ukraine said one strike hit an oil refinery in Kstovo, in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region, around 800 kilometers (500 miles) from the front lines in eastern Ukraine.

Falling debris from a drone triggered a fire at the site, Russia said earlier.

Refinery Blaze

"As a result of repelling a drone attack, debris fell on the Sibur-Kstovo enterprise, causing a fire to break out," Sibur, a large petrochemical firm that owns the facility, said on Telegram.

Both Sibur and the regional governor confirmed there were no casualties, and firefighters were working to extinguish the blaze.

Images on social media—unverified by AFP—showed a massive blaze illuminating an urban skyline, with flames and plumes of smoke rising over buildings.

Ukraine's SBU security services also reported hitting an oil pumping station and missile warehouse in the Tver region.

Ukraine has previously stated it targets Russian energy facilities to disrupt military logistics and cut off revenues funding the Kremlin’s invasion effort.

The governor of Russia's Smolensk region, Vasily Anokhin, also reported that a Ukrainian drone "was shot down during an attempted attack on a nuclear power facility," adding that there was no damage or casualties.

The governor did not specify which facility, but the Smolensk nuclear power plant is located near the town of Desnogorsk.

'Most Difficult'

Ukraine said Russia launched an overnight drone attack, triggering air alerts in multiple Ukrainian regions and causing damage from falling debris in several areas.

The Ukrainian air force reported downing 29 Russian drones over nine regions, mostly in the south and east.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said debris from a Russian drone fell in a central district of the capital, while officials in Odesa, in the southern Black Sea region, reported that Russian drones had attacked port facilities in the town of Izmail.

In the southern city of Kherson, Mayor Roman Mrochko confirmed the death of a 52-year-old man in a Russian drone attack. In the northeastern Kharkiv region, an ambulance driver was hospitalized after a drone attack, according to national police.

The bombardments come at a critical time for Ukraine, ahead of the third anniversary of the invasion, marked by costly battles where Russia has made slow but steady gains, particularly in eastern Ukraine.

The Russian defense ministry said its advances were continuing Wednesday, announcing the capture of the village of Novoyelizavetivka in Donetsk’s industrial region. It is one of four regions Russia claimed to annex in late 2022, despite not having full military control over any of them.

The settlement lies just across the border from Dnipropetrovsk, a region Russian forces are closing in on and are expected to enter for the first time in the war.

Donetsk region governor Vadym Filashkin described the situation as "most difficult" and said Russian forces were "destroying" key frontline towns like Kostiantynivka and Pokrovsk with intense aerial bombardments.