Ukraine hits Russian rail, refineries: Kyiv claims deadly train attack; strikes escalate conflict

A source in Ukraine’s military intelligence on Sunday told news agency AFP that Kyiv’s GUR agency was behind two weekend attacks on Russia’s railway system that derailed a train and killed three Russian officers.

The source told the agency that the strikes were aimed at “key logistical routes supplying occupying forces in the Kharkiv and Sumy sectors.”

Ukrainian drones struck the Kirishi oil refinery in northwest Russia, one of the country’s largest, sparking a fire after debris from a downed drone fell on the site, Russian officials said Sunday, according to France 24. The incident highlights the intensifying drone warfare in Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War Two.


Surgutneftegaz’s Kirishinefteorgsintez refinery, among Russia’s top two, was the main target, Russian authorities confirmed. Leningrad region governor Alexander Drozdenko said three drones were destroyed near Kirishi and that the fire caused by falling debris had been extinguished without casualties.

Ukraine’s drone command later claimed responsibility, calling it a “successful strike,” though the extent of damage could not be independently verified, France 24 reported. The refinery processes about 17.7 million metric tons of crude annually, equal to roughly 355,000 barrels per day or 6.4 percent of Russia’s total output.

Russia separately reported destroying more than 80 Ukrainian drones overnight.

In another strike on Saturday, a Ukrainian drone hit Bashneft’s oil refinery near Ufa, about 1,400 kilometres from the front lines, causing a fire and minor damage. Bashkortostan region governor Radiy Khabirov said production would continue unaffected.

The back-to-back attacks mark a significant escalation in Ukrainian drone operations against Russian energy facilities. With strikes now hitting major refineries and Russian drones falling in Nato-member Poland, the scope of the conflict continues to widen.