Ukrainian forces have intensified their drone attacks on Russian territory in August 2025, targeting critical energy and military infrastructure deep inside Russia. On August 10, Ukrainian drones struck the Saratov oil refinery in southwestern Russia, causing a major fire and killing one person, according to Russian officials. The Saratov refinery, operated by Rosneft, has a processing capacity of about 140,000 barrels per day and was forced offline by the attack, marking the third Russian refinery hit by Ukrainian drones this month. Following this, Ukrainian drones attacked the Arzamas Instrument-Building Plant in Nizhny Novgorod, a key manufacturer of cruise missile components, resulting in three fatalities and two injuries. Additional strikes targeted the city of Tula near Moscow, where two people were killed and two hospitalized. On August 13, Ukrainian drones hit the Druzhba Oil Pipeline pumping station in Unecha, a major crude export hub for Russia, causing fires but no reported disruption to crude flows to Europe. The same day, attacks also targeted facilities in Slavyansk-on-Kuban and Volgograd. On August 14, a Ukrainian drone strike ignited a fire at the Lukoil refinery in Volgograd, one of Russia's largest refineries processing over 15 million tons of oil annually, accounting for 5.6% of Russian refining capacity. The attack caused massive fires and operational disruptions, although no casualties were reported. Ukrainian drones also struck residential areas in Rostov-on-Don and Belgorod, injuring multiple civilians and damaging apartments. These attacks occurred ahead of a planned summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump, with Kyiv continuing its long-range drone offensive aimed at crippling Russia's war infrastructure. Russian authorities reported intercepting numerous drones in these attacks, highlighting escalating tensions and ongoing conflict dynamics.
🚨 UKRAINIAN DRONES STRIKE BELGOROD AHEAD OF PUTIN-TRUMP SUMMIT Ukrainian drones hit Russia’s Belgorod region, injuring civilians and damaging homes just hours before the Putin-Trump summit in Alaska. The timing intensifies scrutiny on Moscow’s war strategy and raises stakes for https://t.co/F1RwweRRLo
En Russie, trois personnes survivent miraculeusement à une frappe de drone ukrainien https://t.co/c3hKYyaHel
🔥 On the night of August 14, AFU struck Volgograd Oil Refinery, which supplies the Russian army with petroleum products, - General Staff ❗️More than 15 million tons of oil are processed here annually, which is 5.6% of all Russian processing. https://t.co/psT6nyypTu