Oil refineries ablaze as Ukraine expands strikes deep inside Russia

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said it carried out a series of strikes against military and energy-related targets in Russian-controlled territory and annexed Crimea between June 1 and June 2, 2026.

According to the Ukrainian military, one of the key targets was the Ilsky Oil Refinery in Russia’s Krasnodar region. The General Staff said a fire broke out at the facility following a strike.

The refinery is described by Ukraine as one of the largest oil-processing facilities in southern Russia, with an annual capacity of approximately 6.6 million tons of crude oil.

“The refinery produces petroleum products that are used, among other things, to supply the Russian Armed Forces,” the General Staff said in a statement.

Ukraine also reported striking a Pantsir-S1 air defence missile and gun system in the Crimea area. In addition, the military said it targeted warehouses and drone command centres in the Donetsk, Belgorod, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.

The General Staff further claimed that Ukrainian forces struck concentrations of Russian personnel in several locations across the Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk and Kursk regions.

Separately, the Ukrainian military provided an update on earlier attacks carried out using Neptune cruise missiles against the Novoshakhtinsk and Saratov oil refineries. According to the statement, primary oil-processing units at both facilities sustained damage and fires were recorded following the strikes.

Ukraine also reported damage to the Lazarevo Line Production Dispatch Station (LPDS) in Russia’s Kirov region. The military said storage tanks and pumping station infrastructure at the site were affected.

In a separate claim, the General Staff stated that Ukrainian forces struck a vessel on June 1 near a naval base in annexed Crimea. Preliminary information suggests the vessel was a degaussing ship, although the results of the strike are still being assessed.

By Vafa Guliyeva