Ukraine hits Russian refineries as strikes batter Kharkiv, Kyiv and Zaporizhzhia

Deep strikes on Russian energy

Ukrainian officials stated that long-range drone strikes have neutralized 51% of Russia's oil refining capacity. Struck installations include refineries in Moscow, Yaroslavl, Ust-Luga, Perm, Saratov, and Syzran. Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged during a Valdai Club forum that strikes on refineries caused Russia to lose roughly 1% of gross domestic product. Data from Russia's finance ministry shows oil and gas tax receipts fell 17% in the first nine months of the year to 5.47 trillion roubles, down from 6.01 trillion in 2025. Crude oil output fell by 5.6% from 9.240 million barrels per day in January to 8.718 million in August. Shipments from the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk remained below capacity due to security risks and tanker shortages, even as Urals crude traded above $92 per barrel after peaking at $113.89 in April.

Fifty-one percent of struck refining capacity is a significant blow to the enemy's economy, to its ability to carry out aggression and supply its troop groupings. Our deep strikes continue to bring the war to Russian territory.

Aerial bombardment of Ukrainian cities

Russian aerial attacks hit residential districts and urban infrastructure across Ukraine. On Monday, Russian glide bombs struck three areas of Kharkiv, killing five people and injuring 53, with 30 hospitalized and three in serious condition according to regional governor Oleh Syniehubov. Mayor Ihor Terehov reported two bodies recovered from building rubble, while warehouses and apartment facades suffered heavy destruction. In Kyiv, Russian jet-powered drones carrying 50-kilogram warheads attacked bridges crossing the Dnipro River for four consecutive days. Five strikes between Thursday and Friday shut down the South Bridge to road and metro traffic, while weekend strikes damaged the North Bridge, injuring two people and severing trolleybus power lines.

Nuclear plant attacks and international warnings

At the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, drone strikes on Monday hit a laboratory building and a radioactive waste facility, killing a food delivery driver. Rosatom director general Alexei Likhachev stated that the strike caused no threat to nuclear safety, though external power lines remained damaged from prior shelling, leaving the six-reactor facility running on emergency diesel generators. Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Western governments of facilitating the attacks by withholding public condemnation. In Brussels, European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned of escalating Russian hybrid attacks, citing drone incursions into Moldovan airspace and an attempted drone strike at Leipzig airport in August.

Europe has seen a spike in the Russian hybrid attacks and sabotage attempts and airspace violations in recent weeks. Russian missiles and drones violated Moldovan airspace again over the weekend. And this is completely unacceptable.

Economic toll and budget pressures

Infrastructure attacks have deepened financial strains across Ukraine. The national government faces a $56 billion financing deficit for 2026, including $27 billion in military spending, as strikes halt industrial operations such as the ArcelorMittal mining and steel complex in Kryvyi Rih. Steel mills in Zaporizhzhia have also stopped production, affecting an industry that generated 10% of pre-war gross domestic product. Ukrainian officials met European partners in Brussels to accelerate disbursements from a 90-billion-euro loan package. In Russia, the federal budget is projected to run a 2026 deficit of 3% of GDP, nearly double the original target, amid currency shifts that strengthened the rouble by 9% against the dollar.

In Kryvyi Rih, the situation is actually worse than anywhere else, apart from the front line itself.