In a significant escalation of cross-border strikes, Ukraine has reported hitting a major Russian oil refinery, while Russian forces simultaneously launched one of the largest attacks to date on Ukraine's energy grid.
Ukrainian Strike on Key Russian Facility
Ukraine's General Staff announced that its military forces successfully struck the Ryazan oil refinery overnight. The refinery is located approximately 193 kilometres southeast of Moscow, placing it relatively close to the Russian capital. This facility is one of Russia's largest, with a design capacity to process about 340,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
The attack on the Ryazan refinery is part of a sustained Ukrainian campaign targeting Russia's energy sector. This follows a record series of Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refineries in November and another strike yesterday on a Rosneft refinery in Syzran. Kyiv's strategy aims to reduce Moscow's offensive potential and its ability to supply fuel to military units on the front lines, even as peace negotiations continue without a major breakthrough.
It is important to note that these claims from Kyiv have not been independently verified at this time.
Russia's Retaliatory Barrage on Ukrainian Energy
In a parallel and massive offensive, Russia's military conducted a large-scale attack on Ukrainian energy infrastructure. According to Ukraine's General Staff, the assault involved a staggering 653 drones and 51 missiles.
The consequences were severe and widespread. Ukraine's Energy Ministry reported that the strikes caused power outages across multiple regions, including:
- Odesa
- Chernihiv
- Kyiv
- Kharkiv
- Dnipropetrovsk
- Zaporizhzhia
- Mykolaiv
DTEK, Ukraine's largest private energy company, confirmed that equipment at one of its thermal power plants was damaged in the attack. The widespread nature of the assault forced Ukraine's operating nuclear power plants to reduce their output, as noted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in a statement on social media platform X.
A Strategic Energy War
The overnight exchanges highlight how the conflict has increasingly evolved into a war targeting critical energy infrastructure on both sides. Ukraine's focus on Russian refineries seeks to impose economic costs and constrain military logistics. Conversely, Russia's continued bombardment of Ukraine's power grid aims to cripple the country's civilian infrastructure and industrial capacity, especially as winter approaches.
The Ryazan refinery has been attacked several times in recent months, indicating its strategic importance. These tit-for-tat strikes on energy assets underscore the protracted and destructive nature of the conflict, with both nations leveraging long-range drones and missiles to strike deep behind enemy lines.
