Ukrainian drone forces carried out coordinated attacks overnight on Russian energy and industrial targets across at least seven regions, including Saratov, Kirov, Rostov, Voronezh, Belgorod, Krasnodar, and Yaroslavl [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]. The strikes triggered fires at oil depots, refineries, fuel tanks, and a port facility in Taganrog, Rostov Oblast, damaging some civil infrastructure and injuring civilians [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9]. Russian authorities reported three civilians injured in Belgorod and two in Taganrog as a result of the drone attacks [1, 2, 3, 5].
Russian air defenses intercepted multiple Ukrainian drones overnight in areas including Taganrog, Chertkovsky, Matveyevo-Kurgansky, and Neklinovsky districts [2, 9]. The Russian Defense Ministry stated 127 Ukrainian drones were shot down during these strikes [9].
Ukraine’s General Staff and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed attacks on the Saratov oil refinery about 700 kilometers from the front line. Zelenskyy said, "During the night, our soldiers applied Ukraine’s long-range sanctions against an oil refinery in Saratov, Russia" [3, 4, 6, 7, 9]. Ukraine also targeted a major oil pipeline dispatch station in Kirov and an oil depot in Rostov, both confirmed by Russian officials [3, 5, 7, 8].
In Krasnodar region, Ukraine launched a drone strike on an oil facility in Armavir, roughly 500 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, causing a fire. Zelenskyy remarked, "Another facility of Russia's oil industry has been reached - Armavir. We are rightfully bringing the war back to where it came from" [2, 6, 9].
Russian-controlled Crimea introduced restrictions on petrol sales, citing ongoing Ukrainian attacks on fuel infrastructure nearby. Governor Sergei Aksyonov said authorities were imposing these sales limits following the strikes [1, 3, 5, 8].
A Ukrainian drone also struck the machine room building of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Russian-occupied southeast Ukraine, causing damage that did not affect core equipment, according to Rosatom. Ukraine’s Southern Military Command denied any responsibility for that strike, stressing their operations comply with international humanitarian law [10, 6].
These attacks came after Russia launched a large retaliatory strike on Ukraine on June 2. Russia used hypersonic missiles and drones to target Kyiv and six other Ukrainian regions, citing Ukraine’s attacks inside Russia as justification [11, 12]. The Russian Defense Ministry stated that all designated targets were successfully hit using high-precision weapons [11].
President Zelenskyy has requested more air defense ammunition amid the intensifying drone strikes and reported receipt of a German Iris-T missile launcher to bolster Ukrainian defenses [3].
