Ukrainian drones struck two Russian oil refineries overnight into August 8, sparking fires in Krasnodar and Samara regions as Russia and Ukraine exchanged large-scale attacks, according to Bloomberg and Ukrainian outlets.
A fire broke out at Russia’s Ilsky refinery after falling debris from a downed drone struck the facility, injuring five people, regional authorities said. Russia’s Defense Ministry said it intercepted 397 Ukrainian drones overnight.
Separately, explosions were reported around 2 a.m. in Syzran, Samara Oblast, followed by a large fire at the Syzran refinery, Ukrainska Pravda reported, citing monitoring channel Exilenova+. The fire was still burning as of Saturday morning; Russian authorities have released no casualty or damage figures. This is at least the eleventh reported strike on the plant since late 2025, with the facility previously forced to fully halt processing after strikes in May and July damaged its main refining units.
The strikes extend Ukraine’s monthslong campaign against Russian refineries far from the front, following an August 6 strike on the Bashneft-Novoil and Slavneft-Yanos plants, President Volodymyr Zelensky said. The campaign aims to cut into oil revenue funding Russia’s war and has already strained the country’s domestic fuel supply.
The exchange came days after a Russian barrage killed at least 17 people in Kyiv, when none of roughly two dozen missiles fired were intercepted — a shortfall Zelensky has linked to Ukraine’s depleted Patriot interceptor stock.
