Ukraine Keeps Hitting Russia’s Biggest Refineries Thousands Of Miles From The Border
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said forces again hit a large Russian refinery as attacks thousands of miles from the border continue.
In a social media publication, Zelensky said the strikes, which he describes as “long-range sanctions,” worked to “limit Russia’s oil revenues, which it uses to finance the war and the killing of Ukrainians.”
“Ukraine’s Defense Forces struck the aggressor’s facilities more than 1,300 kilometers from the front line. The Bashneft-Novoil refinery was hit in Bashkortostan. In the Yaroslavl region, nearly 700 kilometers from our border, the Slavneft-YANOS refinery was hit,” Zelensky added. CNBC detailed that it is located less than 200 miles from Moscow and has previously been hit in the conflict. It makes some 15 million tons of crude per year.
Today, our long-range sanctions once again worked to limit Russia’s oil revenues, which it uses to finance the war and the killing of Ukrainians.
Ukraine’s Defense Forces struck the aggressor’s facilities more than 1,300 kilometers from the front line. The Bashneft-Novoil… pic.twitter.com/hp6FX7bpIQ
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 6, 2026
The outlet added that Mikhail Evraev, governor of the Yaroslavl region, said the strike was part of Ukraine’s largest-ever drone attack there. “Falling debris hit the oil refinery’s storage tanks. Emergency services are working to extinguish the fire,” he said in a Telegram message, noting that there were no casualties.
However, Kyiv has been warning that at the same time it faces shortages at home, particularly missile interceptors.
Another report claimed that the country is bracing for what could become the country’s most difficult winter since Russia launched its full-scale invasion as Moscow ramps up missile strikes targeting critical energy infrastructure.
With temperatures still high in the middle of summer, Zelenskyy has already made winter preparedness a central priority, warning that protecting power plants, heating facilities and other essential infrastructure will be critical to keeping the country functioning during the colder months.
Russia has stepped up missile and drone attacks against Ukrainian cities in recent weeks, a strategy analysts believe is designed to exploit Kyiv’s limited supply of ballistic missile interceptors and place additional pressure on civilian infrastructure before the heating season begins.
In an effort to strengthen the government’s response, Zelenskyy last month appointed former Naftogaz chief executive Sergii Koretskyi as Ukraine’s new prime minister, describing the leadership change as part of a broader effort to safeguard lives and ensure the country can withstand another winter under sustained Russian attacks.
The reshuffle reflects growing concern that energy resilience will once again become one of the defining fronts of the war, just as it has during previous winters when Russian forces repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s electricity grid, causing widespread blackouts and disrupting heating supplies across the country.
Iryna Terekh, chief executive of Ukrainian drone manufacturer Fire Point, said the coming months could prove even more challenging than last winter because Ukraine still faces significant shortages in its air defense capabilities.
Ukraine continues to rely heavily on the U.S.-made Patriot PAC-3 missile defense system to intercept Russian ballistic missiles, while domestic defense companies race to develop indigenous technologies capable of strengthening the country’s air defense network.
However, Terekh acknowledged that creating advanced missile defense systems is a long-term process. “We are trying to squeeze in the program that usually takes 20 to 30 years to develop in a few years, and this is not something that you can do within a matter of three months before the winter,” Terekh said.
