Ukraine attacks oil refinery and drone manufacturing in Russia

Ukrainian drones attacked a big oil refinery and a drone factory in Russia‘s Tatarstan province on Tuesday. This is the farthest strike into Russia by Kyiv since the war started over two years ago.

A recent attack happened near the cities of Yelabuga and Nizhnekamsk in Russia. 12 people were hurt in the attack, which took place about 745 miles east of Ukraine.

Lately, Ukrainian drones have been launching more frequent attacks on Russian refineries and oil terminals, in an effort to cause more damage on Russian land.

Ukrainian experts have been making their drones able to fly farther and carry more weapons, because Ukraine needs more powerful weapons and troops on the battlefield. Drones are a cheaper choice for Ukraine until they get more military help from the US.

Neither side can make a big impact on the 1,000-kilometer front line right now.

Security and intelligence officials from Ukraine said they attacked a place in Yelabuga, Tatarstan where drones are made. They used long-range drones produced in Ukraine. Tatarstan is well-known for having a lot of factories, and one factory near Yelabuga has made drones that explode, which are designed by people from Iran.

Ukrainian officials said that spies were part of an attack on the Nizhnekamsk oil refinery.

The officials talked to The Associated Press but didn’t want their names to be known because they weren’t allowed to talk to the public. It was unusual for officials in Kyiv to admit they were responsible for an attack on Russia, because they usually don’t talk about attacks on Russian soil. Sometimes they might mention them indirectly.

The Associated Press could not check if the claims were true.

Russia often uses Shahed drones to launch air attacks on Ukraine. They send a lot of them at once to try and overcome Ukraine’s air defenses.

Tatarstan officials said the attack didn’t stop factories from working, while Nizhnekamsk’s mayor said the attempt to attack the refinery was stopped by air defenses.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that Kyiv is trying to distract people from their losses by trying to attack Russia, in order to show their supporters that they can still fight against Russia.

During a meeting with top military leaders, Shoigu said that Russian soldiers have taken control of over 400 square kilometers (about 155 square miles) since the beginning of the year.

Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov from the Kremlin said that the Russian army is doing things to make their defenses stronger against these attacks.

“The army is trying to make this danger smaller and eventually get rid of it completely,” he said during a phone call with journalists.

Ukraine has used drones to attack St. and nearby areas before. Petersburg is about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) north of the border. The facilities in Tatarstan, a province on the Volga River, seem to be the farthest target Ukraine has tried to attack.

Last year, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said that his country made a weapon that can reach a target 700 kilometers away. It seems like he was talking about a drone attack on Russia.

Last year, Ukraine’s minister for digital transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, said the government wanted to create a high-tech army of drones. He said that their importance in the war will be clear by the end of this year. Last year, Ukraine taught over 10,000 new people how to fly drones.

Ukraine made dangerous sea drones that hit Russian navy ships in the Black Sea. The attacks that worked well made the Kremlin feel bad. On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to choose Adm. The Russian Defense Ministry announced that Alexander Moiseyev is the new leader of the navy.

Putin also chose Vice Admiral as a name. Sergei Pinchuk is now the leader of the navy’s Black Sea Fleet after the previous leader, Adm. , was let go.