Ukraine's drone assault ignites major oil refinery in Russia

Ukraine’s drone assault on Russia reportedly ignited a major oil refinery in the south, killing at least two people, Russian authorities said Sunday. Kyiv has intensified long-range attacks on Russian military industries and energy facilities in recent months, aiming to reduce Moscow’s revenue for the invasion that is now in its fifth year and to create pressure for negotiations. Russian officials said debris from downed Ukrainian drones sparked a blaze at the Slavyansk-na-Kubani refinery in Russia’s Krasnodar region, east of occupied Crimea, and that one person died in Slavyansk with another wounded in a nearby village. The refinery processes close to 4 million tons of crude per year, and it produces petroleum products for export through Russia’s Black Sea ports. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed a second refinery near Yaroslavl was also hit, but Russian authorities had not provided immediate confirmation. Separately, Russia’s civil aviation agency reported brief overnight airport closures in Yaroslavl and other southern and western areas.