Coordinated Ukrainian Drone Offensive Hits Rosneft Refinery, Saratov and Fuel Depots Deep Inside Russia
A coordinated Ukrainian drone offensive overnight Saturday-Sunday successfully breached Russian air defences, striking Russia’s Saratov Oil Refinery, the Rosneft refinery and multiple fuel depots deep inside Russian territory. Ukraine’s military separately said a Russian brigade that committed war crimes in Bucha in 2022 had been hit by a Ukrainian drone strike. Russia launched fresh strikes on Ukraine in response. The strikes are part of Ukraine’s long-running deep-strike campaign against Russian refining infrastructure and pre-position assets ahead of an anticipated Russian summer offensive.
Ukrainian deep-strike operations against Russian refineries have measurably affected Russian fuel availability through 2026, with Russian wholesale petrol prices spiking after multiple strikes on refining infrastructure. The targeted Bucha brigade reference is part of the Ukrainian military’s explicit naming-and-shaming campaign linking specific strike targets to documented war-crime perpetrators. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters Saturday that the United States will “find a way” to help Ukraine defend itself, after President Volodymyr Zelensky’s plea for more air-defence missiles. If the Iran deal holds, NATO-side Patriot replenishment to Ukraine could resume in volume; if it collapses, Ukraine faces a sustained interceptor gap. Russian Geran-2 attack drones are produced at a rate of around 5,000 per month.