Russian attacks killed at least three civilians in Ukraine on Wednesday, officials said, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv had struck an oil refinery in Ufa and a military-industrial facility in Russia’s Penza region.
The attacks came as both sides continued long-range strikes far from the front line in the fifth year of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.
In Ukraine’s southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region, Russian drones hit five retail fuel stations overnight, killing one woman and injuring three others, including a pregnant woman, regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha said, according to Reuters. The strikes damaged equipment and caused fires at the sites.
In the southern city of Kherson, a separate drone attack on a passenger bus killed two people and wounded nine, regional officials said. Kherson Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said the drone operator could see that the target was civilian transport.
Ukraine also reported fresh strikes inside Russia. Zelenskyy said Ukrainian weapons had hit an oil refinery in Ufa, more than 1,300 kilometres from the front line, and a strategic facility in the Penza region linked to Russia’s military-industrial complex.
“This is the second time our sanctions responses to Russia dragging out the war have reached the oil refinery in Ufa,” Zelenskyy said. He also said the Penza site produced components used in missile weapons.
The Ukrainian president said the strikes were part of Kyiv’s effort to reduce Russia’s ability to continue attacks on Ukrainian cities. “Peace is needed,” he said. “Russia must end its war.”
Kyiv has expanded attacks on Russian oil refineries, depots and military-linked facilities in recent months. The Associated Press reported that Ukraine has launched more than 50 attacks on Russian oil infrastructure since late March, contributing to fuel shortages and rationing in parts of Russia.
Russia said on Tuesday that it had intercepted 419 Ukrainian drones overnight across several regions. Authorities in the Moscow region said a six-month-old child was killed after a drone hit a private home.
Moscow denies targeting civilians in Ukraine, despite repeated strikes on cities, homes, transport and energy sites. Kyiv says its long-range attacks inside Russia are aimed at military infrastructure and the energy system that supports Moscow’s war effort.
The latest attacks show both countries continuing to expand drone warfare as prospects for a ceasefire remain remote.
