Ukraine says it struck two Russian oil refineries; Moscow reports 605 drones downed and strikes on Ukrainian energy sites
The Facts
- Ukraine said its forces struck two Russian oil refineries — Bashneft-Novoil in Ufa, Bashkortostan, and Slavneft-Yanos in the Yaroslavl region — on 5 August and overnight into 6 August.
- Zelensky said the strikes were aimed at limiting Russia's oil revenues, which he said Moscow uses to finance the war.
- Yaroslavl regional governor Mikhail Evraev said the region faced what he described as the largest drone attack to date, that four people suffered shrapnel wounds, and that a fire at the refinery's fuel tanks was later extinguished; he said 93 drones were downed and 102 firefighters were deployed.
- Russia's defence ministry said air defences intercepted and destroyed 605 Ukrainian drones overnight from 5 to 6 August over about 20 Russian regions and annexed Crimea.
- Russia's military said it had targeted fuel, energy and transport facilities in Ukraine; Ukrainian officials reported deaths from Russian attacks and the southern city of Kherson reported a total blackout.
- The targeted refineries lie far from the front line: Zelensky said Bashneft-Novoil is about 1,300km (808 miles) from the Ukrainian border and Slavneft-Yanos almost 700km (435 miles); Slavneft-Yanos sits a few hundred kilometres northeast of Moscow.
- Ukrainian drones have also repeatedly hit logistics centres of the Russian e-commerce company Wildberries, with about 20 of its sites struck since mid-July, including a fire at a facility in Yekaterinburg where the regional governor said three drones fell on the roof without causing casualties.
- Ukraine's General Staff said damage assessment at the struck refineries was still being confirmed, and both sides have intensified attacks on cities, energy facilities and warehouses while the front line remains largely static and mediation efforts have produced no breakthrough.
Context
Why is Ukraine targeting Russian refineries so far from the border?
Zelensky has framed long-range strikes as an effort to reduce the oil revenues Russia uses to fund the war, saying Ukraine's "long-range sanctions" had "once again worked to limit Russia's oil revenues" CNBC,BBC. Energy infrastructure in the Yaroslavl region has been hit before, including strikes Zelensky described on 27 July and 14 June BBC.
What is Wildberries and why is it being hit?
Wildberries is Russia's largest online retail platform, sometimes described in coverage as the country's answer to Amazon 24heures,20minutes. Since mid-July, Ukrainian drones have struck roughly 20 of its logistics sites across regions including Tver, Tula, Vladimir, Leningrad and Sverdlovsk, prompting the company to evacuate staff, limit deliveries and reroute shipments to other facilities DH.be,Haberler,Haberler,Haberler,Haberler.
What remains unclear or disputed?
The extent of damage to the refineries was still being confirmed by Ukraine's General Staff, which reported three separate seats of fire at Slavneft-Yanos Українська …. Early Russian and Ukrainian accounts of the Yaroslavl strike relied in part on Telegram footage and monitoring groups rather than independent verification Цензор.НЕТ,Українська …, and reported casualty totals from Russian attacks on Ukraine varied across updates during the day BBC,BBC.
Where Left and Right agree, and where they split
- Where Left and Right agree
- With the front static and mediation empty, both reads treat Russia's oil revenue as the war's actual fuel line and long-range strikes on it as the live lever.
- Where Left and Right split
- The civilians in a blacked-out Kherson as both sides burn energy infrastructure, or the deep-strike reach Ukraine built itself and what its partners owe it.
How left and right read it
Kherson is in total blackout, and Ukrainian officials report deaths after Russian strikes on fuel, energy and transport facilities. Meanwhile the front line barely moves and mediation has produced nothing. Zelensky's description of hits on refineries 1,300km and nearly 700km from Ukraine's border as pressure on oil revenue names the real stake — the money financing this war. Target the revenue, not the civilians left in the dark.
“Zelenskyy said that the latest wave of "long-range sanctions" -- a phrase Zelenskyy and other Ukrainian officials often use to refer to Kyiv's long-range attacks on Russian targets -- hit the Bashneft-Novoil refinery in Bashkortostan, more than 800 miles from Ukraine” — ABC News
Ukraine struck Bashneft-Novoil in Ufa, 1,300km from its border, and Slavneft-Yanos northeast of Moscow, with Russia claiming 605 drones downed across some 20 regions. That is reach Ukraine built and aimed itself. Zelensky ties it to the oil revenue financing the war — pressure applied to the enemy's own ledger. With the front static and mediation producing nothing, what does a partner owe beyond the room to do this?
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