One person was killed and three others, including a child, were injured after Ukraine launched attacks on Russia's Samara region and the Azov-Black Sea Canal on Sunday, Russian officials said.
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Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev said the strike in the Samara region damaged residential homes, apartment buildings and an unspecified "industrial site". Russian media reported that the Syzran Oil Refinery, owned by state oil giant Rosneft, was the intended target, publishing images that appeared to show thick black smoke rising from the facility. The refinery lies about 800 kilometres east of the Ukrainian border and has been repeatedly targeted by Kyiv.
Ukraine's military later said it had struck the oil refinery overnight, describing the attack as part of its broader effort to weaken Russia's energy sector and reduce revenues that help finance Moscow's war effort.
In a separate attack, a Ukrainian drone struck an empty tanker as it entered the Azov-Black Sea Canal, according to Rostov region Governor Yury Slyusar. He said the fire caused by the strike had been extinguished and there was no danger of an oil spill because the vessel was carrying no cargo. Slyusar added that there were no casualties.
The Russian Ministry of Defence also said on Sunday that it had carried out strikes on the Ukrainian ports of Odesa and Chornomorsk in the Odesa region.
The latest attacks come as Ukraine intensifies long-range strikes against Russian oil refineries, fuel depots and transport infrastructure, seeking to disrupt military logistics and cut off revenue generated through energy exports.
According to the Ukrainian military, its forces have recently attacked more than 40 Russian tankers operating in the Sea of Azov as part of a campaign aimed at disrupting fuel supplies to Russian troops and isolating Russian-occupied Crimea. Ukraine has also increased strikes on logistics and energy infrastructure in Crimea in recent weeks, contributing to fuel shortages and prompting Russian authorities to declare a state of emergency on the peninsula.
Ukraine's drone campaign against Russian refineries and other energy facilities has triggered fuel shortages and petrol rationing in several Russian regions, with motorists reportedly waiting for hours to refuel.
Moscow has responded by intensifying missile and drone attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, highlighting Ukraine's vulnerability to ballistic missile strikes.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has described the attacks on Russia's energy infrastructure as part of Kyiv's campaign of "long-range sanctions" carried out in response to Moscow's refusal to halt its four-year invasion of Ukraine.
