Ukrainian drone strikes have killed at least three people and wounded two others overnight in western Russia, regional governors reported. A fire broke out at an oil refinery in central Russia after it was hit. According to Governor Oleg Melnichenko, one woman was killed and two others wounded in an attack on an enterprise in Penza. The region’s governor wrote on Telegram, “One woman was killed and two others wounded in an attack on an enterprise in Penza.”
The second death occurred when an elderly man died inside a house that caught fire due to falling drone debris in the Samara region. Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev posted on Telegram that the elderly man lost his life in the incident. Additionally, in the Rostov region, a guard at an industrial facility was killed after a drone attack and a fire in one of the site’s buildings. Acting Rostov Governor Yury Slyusar said, “The military repelled a massive air attack during the night,” destroying drones over seven districts.
Ukraine’s military said it struck Russia’s Ryazan oil refinery on Saturday, causing a fire on its territory. In a statement on Telegram, the Unmanned Systems Forces also said they hit the Annanefteprodukt oil storage facility in the Voronezh region. Ukraine’s SBU intelligence agency reported that its drones had hit Russia’s Primorsko-Akhtarsk military airfield, which has been used to launch waves of long-range drones at targets in Ukraine. The SBU also claimed to have hit a factory in Penza that supplies Russia’s military-industrial complex with electronics.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said in its daily report that its defence units had downed a total of 338 Ukrainian drones overnight. Meanwhile, in Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region, overnight Russian drone attacks left three people wounded, Governor Serhiy Lysak wrote on Telegram. Several buildings, homes, and cars were damaged.
The conflict between Ukraine and Russia continues to escalate, with diplomacy appearing to be a possible way out. US President Donald Trump said he had ordered two nuclear submarines to be positioned in “the appropriate regions” in response to remarks from former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev about the risk of war between the nuclear-armed adversaries.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said only Russia’s President Vladimir Putin could end the war and renewed his call for a meeting between the two leaders. “Ukraine calls for moving beyond the exchange of statements and technical-level meetings to talks between leaders,” Zelenskyy said. “What is needed is Russia’s readiness.”
Putin has consistently rejected calls for a ceasefire, saying his demands for ending Moscow’s military offensive were “unchanged.” These demands include that Ukraine abandon territory and end ambitions to join NATO. The situation on the ground remains the same, with tensions escalating. The United States’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who has close relations with Russian officials, is expected in Moscow soon to negotiate a truce.