Ukraine strikes Russian refinery and airbase as eight die

Ukraine said it struck a major Russian oil refinery and a strategic bomber airfield deep inside Russia overnight, while Moscow reported eight deaths in a wave of attacks that reached regions hundreds of miles from the front line.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Engels airfield and the Saratov oil refinery, both in Russia’s Saratov region about 600km, or 373 miles, from Ukraine’s border, were hit. He described the attacks on social media as “our long-range sanctions” against Russian facilities that he says finance Moscow’s war.

Ukraine’s military said its forces attacked the Saratov refinery and the Engels airbase, sparking fires at both facilities. It said Tu-95MC and Tu-160 bombers regularly use Engels, one of Russia’s main strategic aviation bases, to launch missile strikes against Ukraine. Kyiv also said it struck an oil depot in the Kaluga region and a drone launch site in Bryansk.

Russia said it shot down or intercepted 635 Ukrainian drones. Regional officials reported deaths across several areas: two people were killed in Saratov region, three in a drone strike on a civilian vehicle in Udmurtia, and three in the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine. Belgorod officials also reported five wounded.

In Udmurtia, more than 1,300km, or 800 miles, beyond the Ukrainian front line, acting Governor Olga Abramova said three people were killed when a drone hit a car. “This act is monstrous in its senselessness. These people were definitely not a military target,” she wrote on Telegram.

Saratov regional Governor Roman Busargin said “a drone attack caused damage to civilian infrastructure in Saratov and Engels.” He later said two people had been killed. Al Jazeera reported that the deaths occurred when a residential building in Engels was struck.

Ukrainian drones also hit a Wildberries warehouse in Russia’s Samara region, Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev said. He described the strike, which caused a fire but no reported casualties, as “yet another terrorist act” by Ukraine. Wildberries, often described as Russia’s answer to Amazon, employs about 48,000 people.

Ukraine has struck several Wildberries logistics hubs in recent weeks, describing them as legitimate targets that provide the Russian military with drone components, navigation equipment and other gear. Al Jazeera reported that Ukrainian forces have attacked about a dozen Wildberries sites since July 18. The BBC reported that the strikes have had a serious impact on Russia’s economy, especially on hundreds of small and mid-sized businesses using the retailer.

Russia, meanwhile, said its forces attacked two Ukrainian ports and two vessels in the Black Sea overnight. Ukrainian officials reported new Russian attacks on civilian sites Sunday. One person was killed when a Russian guided bomb struck a residential building in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, according to local administration head Ivan Fedorov. Another attack killed one person and set fire to a postal terminal near Kharkiv, regional administration head Oleh Syniehubov said.

Russia has also recently targeted warehouses belonging to Ukraine’s Nova Poshta postal company and major online retailers including Rozetka. Rozetka said its largest warehouse was hit overnight by Russian drones but reported no injuries.

Both sides have increasingly used long-range missiles and drones to hit targets far beyond the front line, which the BBC reported remains virtually static. AFP data cited by Al Jazeera showed Russia fired a record 376 missiles at Ukraine in July, more than double the number launched in June, with most aimed at Kyiv. UN figures cited by Al Jazeera said more than 170 civilians were killed between July 1 and July 27.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine is facing a critical shortage of U.S.-supplied Patriot interceptor missiles. During a recent Russian barrage on Kyiv, he said Ukrainian air defenses intercepted 154 drones but only one ballistic missile.