Ukraine Strikes 1,400 km inside Russian Territory to Hit Oil Processing Plant

Ukraine Strikes Deep Into Russia: According to a source from Kyiv intelligence, a Ukrainian drone executed an attack on a major oil processing plant in Russia’s Bashkiria region on Thursday, marking the longest-range strike since the conflict began.

Additionally, Ukraine targeted two oil depots in southern Russia as part of its strategy to undermine Russian forces.

The attack on Gazprom’s Neftekhim Salavat complex, reported by the state RIA news agency, damaged a pumping station building.

Despite this, the governor of the region confirmed that the plant continued its operations as usual.

The origin of the drone and its specifications remain unknown.

The distance between the nearest Ukrainian government-held territory and the target site is approximately 1,400 km.

The Kyiv source claimed the drone traveled 1,500 km, highlighting its unprecedented reach and its impact on the safety of Russian refineries and oil depots.

Moscow categorizes such attacks as terrorism and has retaliated with strikes targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, heightening concerns about the resilience of Ukraine’s power system.

Since the beginning of the year, Kyiv has intensified drone attacks on Russian oil processing facilities, reportedly disrupting 15% of Russia’s oil refining capacity as of early April.

Despite this, Reuters calculations on April 15th indicated that Russia had managed to repair some of the key oil refineries affected by the attacks, reducing the idled capacity to approximately 10% from nearly 14% at the end of March.

Facing challenges in matching Russia’s extensive arsenal of cruise and ballistic missiles, Kyiv has prioritized the development and production of long-range drones to retaliate against Russia’s military actions.

The head of Ukraine’s state arms manufacturer asserted that Ukraine now produces the same number of deep strike drones as Russia, achieving parity in a crucial type of weapon employed by Moscow for long-range attacks.

The Kyiv source revealed that Ukrainian drones also targeted two oil depots near Anapa in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region, resulting in significant fires overnight.

These attacks, attributed to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), aimed to disrupt the supply of fuel to Russian troops stationed in the occupied Crimea peninsula, according to the source.

Russian authorities confirmed that a Ukrainian drone attack caused a fire and damaged several oil tanks at a refinery in the Krasnodar region.

Although up to six drones were reportedly destroyed, debris falling on a facility near the village of Yurovka ignited a fire, as communicated via the Telegram messaging app.

The Kyiv source asserted that the SBU would persist in diminishing Russia’s economic and logistical capabilities for waging war.