Ukrainian drones struck Russia’s Omsk oil refinery, the country’s largest, located deep in Siberia, in what Kyiv’s military described as one of the longest-range attacks of the war. The strike caused a fire at the refinery, about 2,700km from Ukrainian-held territory, on the eve of a crucial Nato summit. Local Russian authorities confirmed the attack, with Omsk region governor Vitaly Khotsenko saying air defences destroyed most of the drones and there were no casualties.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed the attack as an “important achievement”, stating in his nightly address: “Siberia, too, is now within reach of Ukrainian precision strikes.” Ukrainian defence technology company Fire Point said its upgraded FP-1 drones carried out the strike, calling it a record for strike drones “not only in Ukraine, but worldwide”. Ukraine’s military also hit Russia’s Ust-Luga and Vysotsk ports on the Baltic Sea, as well as targets in the Kaluga and Yaroslavl regions.
Russia fired missiles and drones into apartment buildings in Kyiv for the second time in a week on Monday, killing at least 21 people and exposing a critical shortage of US-made interceptors. The attack came just days after a huge bombardment killed at least 27. Rescuers were digging bodies from the rubble of a high-rise building. The strikes occurred ahead of a Nato summit in Turkey where Donald Trump is due to hold talks with Zelenskyy.
Zelenskyy pleaded for Nato to boost Ukraine’s air defence, saying: “It is simply absurd that in the modern world, production has still not been organised to the extent that is necessary to protect people from ballistic terror.” He said Kyiv expected “decisions” on air defence at the Ankara summit. Nato chief Mark Rutte urged allies to ensure Ukraine gets what it needs.
Ukraine hopes to sign major defence deals with at least seven Nato countries by the end of the year, highlighting a new aspect of its foreign policy as a provider of military hardware. Kyiv has signed “drone deals” with six countries in recent months. Separately, Azerbaijan summoned Russia’s ambassador to protest a drone strike on a fuel station belonging to state oil company Socar in Ukraine’s Mykolaiv region, calling the attack “deliberate”.
Poland has provided €3.8bn ($4.3bn) in military aid to Ukraine since 2022, the Polish defence minister said, as Warsaw began declassifying its donations amid a diplomatic dispute over second world war-era massacres.
