Ukraine is continuing sustained strikes on Russia’s fuel infrastructure, inflicting tangible damage on the country’s refineries, Defense Express reported. In August alone, more than a dozen effective attacks were recorded on key sites, and, judging by the pace, Ukraine appears close to knocking out the last major facilities up to 1,000 kilometers from its territory.
Overnight on August 28, “Lyutyi” drones struck two large facilities — the Kuibyshev refinery in Samara and the Afipsky refinery in Russia’s Krasnodar region. Footage posted online shows a large fire at the Samara plant; one video appears to capture the blaze, the arrival of another drone, and unsuccessful attempts by Russian air defenses to intercept it. A similar scene unfolded in Krasnodar region, where the Afipsky refinery again came under attack and was temporarily forced offline.
August has brought steady pressure on Russia’s refining sector, with strikes reported almost daily. On August 2, the Ryazan and Novokuybyshevsk refineries were hit; August 7 — Afipsky; August 10 - Saratov; August 13 - Volgograd; August 15 - Syzran; August 19 — a repeat strike on Volgograd; August 24 — Syzran and Novoshakhtinsk; August 25 - Ilsky; August 28 - Kuibyshev and Afipsky again.
The strikes target key hubs of Russia’s oil processing network, many of them hit repeatedly — a sign of a deliberate Ukrainian strategy.
Other facilities remain within potential range, including the Nizhnekamsk refinery, the plant in Tuapse on the Black Sea coast, and Moscow’s Kapotnya refinery, considered one of the most heavily guarded targets. Smaller sites in the Oryol and Kaluga regions, as well as in Krasnodar, also remain at risk.
