Russian oil under attack as Ukraine targets fuel used by Vladimir Putin’s military
Ukraine has ramped up long-range drone strikes into Russia, targeting oil facilities that fuel warplanes, ships and military vehicles as well as oil refineries that help power the economy.
An increase in the intensity of the attacks appears to have started in December, continued through the whole of January and is still being maintained into February, according to analysis of drone strikes confirmed by the Ukrainian armed forces and security services.
Other attacks have also been reported but not officially acknowledged by Kyiv.
A Ukrainian intelligence source said Ukraine has “significantly increased” the production of drones to attack Russia as well as improving their accuracy and range. “This increase will continue,” they said.
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Preventing Russian oil from powering Vladimir Putin‘s war machine was an important goal, according to the source, who asked to speak anonymously for security reasons.
“If this oil has not reached the combat zone, it is definitely a successful operation, and we will continue to strike,” the source said.
A Western security source said that the strikes were also aimed at reducing Russia’s ability to export oil, amplifying the impact of Western sanctions against Russian energy and increasing the cost for the Russian president of conducting his war against Ukraine.
Asked about the drone strikes, Andriy Yermak, the head of Volodymyr Zelenskyy‘s presidential office, told Sky News: “The only way to force Russia into peace is through strength. And that is crucial for the safety of people everywhere.
“For this reason, Ukraine will continue increasing strikes on Russian military targets – warehouses, factories, and airfields.”
One of Ukraine’s tactics has been to hit the same oil facility twice in a short space of time
Tracking the tempo of drone strikes
Sky News’ Data and Forensic Unit tracked the tempo of Ukrainian drone strikes against Russian oil depots and other facilities linked to oil production over the past three months.
The analysis shows a clear rise in the number of strikes and an apparent increase in Ukraine’s drone capability, with unmanned aircraft – operated by a combination of specialist units – hitting targets hundreds of miles into Russian territory in defiance of air defences.
Images released by the Ukrainian General Staff to accompany various announcements purport to show fires blazing into the night sky in the wake of the different strikes.
In November, the Ukrainian armed forces publicly claimed to have carried out just two attacks linked to oil sites and two more against military targets, all inside Russia. The following month, that number rose to four confirmed drone operations against oil-related targets and a fifth against a military facility.
In January, however, the Ukrainian military publicly claimed responsibility for 13 strikes against oil-linked facilities across Russia and another attack against a microelectronics plant.
There have already been another four strikes on Russian oil facilities so far this month – including an oil depot in Krasnodar Krai seen on fire last week.
Three of January’s oil targets were each hit twice – seemingly a tactic to inflict greater damage.
Ryazan attack
One of the most significant double attacks was against an oil refinery in the central Russian region of Ryazan – more than 300 miles from the Ukrainian border.
It is one of the four largest refineries in Russia and produces fuel for military equipment, including jet fuel, diesel fuel and other petroleum products for tanks, aircraft, and ships.
Ukraine said its drones struck the site on the night of 24 January and again overnight on 25 January. The video below shows the plant on fire after the first attack.
“Combat work on… important objects involved in securing the army of Russian aggressors will continue,” the Ukrainian military said in a Facebook post at the time. The attacks reportedly forced the refinery – which accounts for about 5% of Russia’s total refining output – to suspend operations.
Kristall attack
Another target deemed important enough to strike twice was the Kristall oil depot. It provides fuel to the airbase where Russia’s strategic bomber fleet is located in the city of Engels, almost 400 miles from the Ukrainian border.
Ukrainian drones first struck the site on 8 January, triggering a fire that burnt for five days – at which point the depot was hit again.
Satellite imagery from before and after the operations reveal what appears to be damage to a number of white storage tanks, with some quite heavily impacted and others partially burnt.
Damage against oil facilities creates “serious logistical problems for Russian occupiers’ strategic aviation and significantly reduces their ability to strike peaceful Ukrainian cities and civilian objects”, Ukraine’s military said in a Facebook post.
Liskinska attack
The third double strike in January occurred against the Liskinska oil depot in the Voronezh region of western Russia, which the Ukrainian military said is also used to provide fuel for Russian military operations.
The first attack happened overnight on 16 January. “A large-scale fire broke out at the facility. It is known that the oil base stored fuel, which, in particular, was used to provide the needs of the Russian occupation army,” Ukraine’s military said in another Facebook post.
The military’s General Staff also posts about its attacks on the social media site X, previously known as Twitter. The depot was hit again on 21 January. Before and after satellite imagery shows clear fire damage to oil infrastructure.
There has been no let up in the tempo of Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil targets into February – with a fourth location also hit twice.
Volgograd attack
The initial strike happened at the end of January, with drones targeting the Lukoil-Volgograd oil refinery in Russia’s Volgograd region – one of the country’s 10 largest refineries, which is also a key supplier to the Russian armed forces.
Volgograd is in southwestern Russia, more than 200 miles from the Ukrainian border.
“Flashes and explosions have been recorded in the area of this plant that is important to occupants,” Ukraine’s General Staff said in a Facebook post. The military reported a second strike on the site on 3 February.
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Despite Ukraine’s success at striking deep into Russia, analysts appear divided for now about the impact of the operation.
Russian aviation sector ‘struggling’
Isaac Levy, an analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, said the Ukrainian attacks were pushing up domestic fuel prices and affecting the armed forces.
“The Russian aviation sector is struggling to attain enough of its oil products used to fly those bomber jets that drop missiles back on Ukraine, so that is creating an issue for the Russian military,” he said.
However, Clay Seigle, a senior fellow at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said the overall economic effect has so far been muted.
“The Ukrainian, drone systems have a very long range, and they also have very impressive precision guidance,” he said. “The thing that they’re lacking, though, is the military-grade explosive power that would put real damage to those refinery units.”
Russia has launched its heaviest drone attack on Ukraine since the start of the war in 2022, the Ukrainian military has said.
A total of 273 exploding drones were reportedly fired across the Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions between Saturday night and Sunday morning.
Some 88 were intercepted and 128 “lost”, having been electronically jammed, Ukraine’s air force said.
It passes the previous record of 267 drones on the eve of the war’s third anniversary earlier this year.
Firefighters at the site of a business premises struck by a drone outside Kyiv. Pic: Reuters
Burnt out cars and buildings in the Kyiv region on Sunday. Pic: AP
In Kyiv, a 28-year-old woman was killed, and three people, including a four-year-old child were injured, according to regional governor Mykola Kalashnyk.
Just outside the city, firefighters fought to control flames at business premises destroyed by drone attacks. Russia has not commented.
Resident Vadym Tysbenko, 22, outside his drone-struck house near Kyiv. Pic: Reuters
Emergency workers put out flames after drone strikes in Kyiv. Pic: AP
Firefighters at work in the Kyiv region on Sunday. Pic: AP
It comes ahead of a planned phone call between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
Mr Trump has promised to speak to Mr Putin and then President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday about “ending the war” after the first direct talks between their two countries failed to yield a ceasefire this week.
Mr Putin snubbed Mr Zelenskyy’s offer of face-to-face talks in Turkey.
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What happened at Russia-Ukraine peace talks?
A source from the Ukrainian negotiation team told Sky News that Russia threatened “eternal war” during talks between officials.
Kremlin representatives are also reported to have threatened that Ukraine may lose “more than just loved ones” while at the negotiating table.
Talks did bring promise of the largest ever prisoner swap between the two nations – involving 1,000 prisoners of war on each side.
Ukraine’s military intelligence chief said he hoped it would take place over the next week.
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Nine killed in Sumy bus strike
Elsewhere in Sumy, northeastern Ukraine, on Saturday, nine people were killed and seven injured after a bus evacuating civilians was hit by a Russian drone in the town of Bilopillia, according to Ukrainian officials.
On Sunday, Mr Zelenskyy was in Vatican City attending the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV in Vatican City. Pic: Reuters
He was pictured shaking hands with US Vice President JD Vance after their tense clash at the White House earlier this year.
At least 103 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza overnight and into Sunday, according to hospitals and medics.
Israel has launched an escalation of its war in Gaza to ramp up pressure on Hamas, seize territory, displace Palestinians to the south and take greater control over the distribution of aid.
Meanwhile, Israel says talks with Hamas taking place in Qatar this weekend involve discussions on ending the war as well as a truce and hostage deal.
Addressing the strikes overnight, a spokesperson for the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said: “Complete families were wiped off the civil registration record by Israeli bombardment”.
The ministry also said airstrikes had forced the closure of the Indonesian Hospital, the main hospital serving people in northern Gaza.
Nasser hospital, in the southern city of Khan Younis, said more than 48 people – mostly women and children – were killed in the area, including tents sheltering displaced people.
Smoking debris after an airstrike at a tent camp in Khan Younis, southern Gaza on Sunday. Pic: Reuters
Saleh Zenati carries the body of his nephew killed in Khan Younis on Sunday. Pic: AP
In Deir al Balah, in central Gaza, at least 12 people were killed in three separate strikes, according to Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital and the Nuseirat camp’s Awda hospital.
Meanwhile, the Gaza health ministry and the Palestinian Civil Defence – which operates under the Hamas-run government – reported that 19 people were killed in multiple strikes in Jabalia, northern Gaza.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the latest strikes.
Peace talks include ending war in Gaza
It comes as peace talks between Israel and Hamas continue in Qatar this weekend, including discussions about ending the war.
A statement from the Israeli Prime Minister’s office said on Sunday that any lasting truce must include the demilitarisation of Gaza as well as the exile of Hamas militants.
But a senior Israeli official added that the talks in the capital, Doha, had made little progress so far.
Sky News Arabia reported that Hamas had proposed freeing about half its Israeli hostages in exchange for a two-month ceasefire and the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
A Palestinian official close to the discussions said: “Hamas is flexible about the number of hostages it can free, but the problem has always been over Israel’s commitment to end the war.”
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On Saturday, Israel ramped up attacks on Gaza
Four journalists killed in Israeli airstrikes
Details have emerged on Sunday about the deaths of four Palestinian journalists in Gaza following Israeli airstrikes.
Abdel Rahman al Abadleh was missing for two days before his body was found in the town of al Qarara in southern Gaza.
Three other journalists were also killed following strikes on Saturday. Aziz al Hajjar, his wife and children, died in the Bir al Naaja neighbourhood of northern Gaza.
Ahmed al Zenati, his wife Noor al Madhoun and their children Mohammad and Khaled, were killed in Khan Younis.
Meanwhile, in Deir al Balah, central Gaza, Nour Qandil, her husband Khaled Abu Seif, and their young daughter were also killed.
![Sourced via Rosabel Crean from SN For Desk:
[LEFT] Journalist Abdel Rahman Al-Abadleh had been killed in an Israeli airstrike on the town of Al-Qarara, southern Gaza. He had been missing for two days, and only this morning his fate was confirmed
[RIGHT] Journalist Aziz Al-Hajjar, his wife, and their children were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Bir Al-Naaja neighbourhood in northern Gaza](https://e3.365dm.com/25/05/768x432/skynews-abdel-rahman-al-abadleh_6920075.png?20250518095346)
Abdel Rahman al Abadleh (L) and Aziz al Hajjar (R) are among four journalists killed in Gaza. Pic: Family handouts
![Sourced via Rosabel Crean from SN For Desk:
[LEFT] Journalist Ahmed Al-Zenati, his wife Noor Al-Madhoun and their children Mohammad and Khaled were tragically slaughtered last night in an Israeli airstrike that hit their displacement tent in Khan Younis
(RIGHT) Journalist Nour Qandil, her husband Khaled Abu Seif, and their young daughter were all killed in an Israeli airstrike on their home in Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza, according to local sources](https://e3.365dm.com/25/05/768x432/skynews-ahmed-al-zenati-noor-al-madhoun_6920074.png?20250518095156)
Journalists Ahmed al Zenati (L) and Nour Qandil (R) also died in airstrikes. Pic: Family handouts
Israel has blocked the entry of medical, food and fuel supplies into Gaza since the start of March. It is attempting to pressurise Hamas into freeing Israeli hostages and has approved plans that could involve seizing the whole of Gaza and controlling aid.
‘Systematic campaign targeting hospitals’
Earlier on Sunday, Gaza’s health ministry issued a statement accusing Israel of “intensifying its systematic campaign to target hospitals”.
“After putting the European Gaza Hospital out of service a few days ago, the Israeli occupation has intensified its targeting and siege of the Indonesian Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip since dawn today,” it added.
Israel has previously denied deliberately targeting civilians and accused Hamas of using hospitals for military purposes.
This week, Israel said it had bombed the European Hospital because it was home to an underground Hamas base, but Sky News analysis has cast doubt on its evidence.
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Mass protests on Saturday mark 77 years since the Nakba
Houthis launch missile towards Israel
Separately, the Israeli military said on Sunday it had intercepted a missile launched from Yemen towards Israel.
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis said they had targeted Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv with two ballistic missiles.
The Houthis have fired at Israel because of the plight of Palestinians in Gaza, while Israel has carried out airstrikes in response, including one on 6 May that damaged Yemen’s main airport in Sanaa and killed several people.
The war in Gaza began on 7 October 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and abducting 251 others.
Israel’s military response has killed more than 53,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
Donald Trump has said he will speak to Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy separately on Monday in a bid to secure a ceasefire deal between Russia and Ukraine.
The US president made the announcement on Truth Social – shortly after the Ukrainian president condemned Russia for the “deliberate killing of civilians” after a drone hit a bus in northeastern Ukraine.
Mr Trump said he will speak to Mr Putin over the phone. He will then talk with Mr Zelenskyy and “various members of NATO”, he wrote.
In an all-caps post, he said: “HOPEFULLY IT WILL BE A PRODUCTIVE DAY, A CEASEFIRE WILL TAKE PLACE, AND THIS VERY VIOLENT WAR, A WAR THAT SHOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED, WILL END. GOD BLESS US ALL!!!”
The Ukrainian town of Bilopillia has declared a period of mourning lasting until Monday after nine people were killed in a Russian drone attack – which occurred just hours after Kyiv and Moscow held peace talks.
Seven others were injured, Ukrainian authorities said. The bus was evacuating civilians from a frontline area when the drone hit, the country’s national police said.
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Nine killed in Russian strike on bus
A “father, mother and daughter” were among the dead, Mr Zelenskyy said, writing on Telegram: “All the deceased were civilians. And the Russians could not have failed to understand what kind of vehicle they were targeting.”
The attack was also condemned by British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who said he was “appalled”.
“If Putin is serious about peace, Russia must agree to a full and immediate ceasefire, as Ukraine has done,” he wrote on X.
Representatives for Kyiv and Moscow met for direct peace talks in Istanbul, Turkey, just hours before the drone attack.
While the discussions – which were not attended by the Mr Putin or Mr Zelenskyy – did not result in a truce, both countries agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners in their biggest swap yet.
Ukraine’s intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, said on national television the exchange could happen as early as next week.
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What happened at Ukraine talks?
Russia ‘threatened eternal war’ at peace talks
After a Ukrainian official on Friday said Russia made “unacceptable” demands during the discussions, a source from the Kyiv delegation has now told Sky News that Moscow threatened “eternal war”.
Separately, a senior Kyiv official said Russia’s proposed ceasefire terms included the full withdrawal of troops from four regions of Ukraine: Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Luhansk.
Moscow also called for international recognition that those regions and Crimea – annexed in 2014 – are Russian and for Ukraine to become a neutral state, with no allied troops stationed there, they said.
The Kremlin declined to comment on the matter.
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Ukraine has rallied support from its allies following the talks, and a number have spoken out.
French President Emmanuel Macron said: “Today, what do we have? Nothing. And so I tell you, faced with President Putin’s cynicism, I am sure that President Trump, mindful of the credibility of the United States, will react.”
The EU is working on a new package of sanctions against Moscow, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.
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