Ukraine strikes oil refinery in Ryazan region — Asharq Al-Awsat
Ukraine struck an oil refinery in Russia’s Ryazan region, a state-aggressor. Regional Governor Pavel Malkov said that a large-scale attack by Ukrainian drones caused a fire at the facility. A Ukrainian official confirmed the strike on the Russian refinery, Asharq Al-Awsat reports.
Kyiv’s response to strikes by Russia
The attack came after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with the Financial Times that Ukraine would no longer support a pause in strikes on Russian oil refineries. According to him, Kyiv’s patience had run out as Russia continued to launch missile and drone attacks, including against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
According to the publication, US President Donald Trump had previously announced that Russia and Ukraine had allegedly agreed to stop attacks on energy facilities. Following this statement, Kyiv temporarily halted strikes on Russian oil refineries. At the same time, the Kremlin claimed that the parameters of such a cessation of strikes had never been definitively determined.
The plant supplies fuel to Moscow
The plant hit is located in the Ryazan region southeast of Moscow and belongs to the state oil company Rosneft. According to Asharq Al-Awsat, the facility accounts for nearly 5% of Russia’s total oil refining capacity and helps supply fuel to the Russian capital.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin said that long-range Ukrainian attacks on oil refineries had caused nothing particularly significant. Ukraine, for its part, uses long-range drones to strike Russian oil-processing facilities and logistics, calling this a response to the prolonged Russian shelling.
Tensions in relations with the United States
Zelenskyy also told the Financial Times that restrictions on the operation of SpaceX’s Starshield military system for Ukrainian drones were a political decision rather than a technical malfunction. SpaceX chief Elon Musk said that the Starshield systems belong to and are controlled by the US government, while restrictions on their use are determined by the US military leadership and the US president.
Ukrainian officials also said that for several days they had not received the usual warnings from Western partners about Russian missile launches, which are based on data from US satellite systems. Trump denied that the United States was withholding intelligence information.
