Ukrainian drones target key Russian assets: airfield and oil refinery attacked in coordinated strikes
Ukrainian special services have reportedly carried out drone attacks on a military airfield and an oil refinery in Russia, with details of the operations provided by Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) and the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (GUR).
Sources within the SBU have confirmed that explosions at the Kushchevskaya airfield and the Slavyansk oil refinery in Russia's Krasnodar region were the result of Ukrainian drone strikes. The agency humorously referred to these incidents as "celebratory fireworks" in honour of Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk’s victory.
"Tonight, not only Ukraine but also the Russian Kushchevskaya airfield and Slavyansk oil refinery celebrated Oleksandr Usyk’s victory. The celebratory fireworks were sponsored by SBU drones," the sources said.
The targeted airfield housed frontline aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces, including Su-34, Su-25, Su-27, and MiG-29 aircraft.
At the Slavyansk refinery, management announced that after several loud blasts, the facility had to halt operations as they assess the damage.
“This time, the drones were bigger, carrying larger charges and were loaded with steel balls as shrapnel,” lamented Eduard Trudnev, the Director of Comprehensive Security for the Slavyansk ECO group, to Russian media.
The SBU also noted that this was the second attack on these targets in the past three weeks. In the earlier strike, several aircraft were damaged at the airfield, while rectification and atmospheric columns were hit at the refinery.
In Russia’s Leningrad region, explosions at an oil storage facility were reportedly carried out by GUR operatives.
“Three explosive devices struck vertical fuel tanks, destroying three of them,” a GUR source told Focus.
Commenting on the incident, some Russian media pointed out that photos of the blaze and black smoke posted online helped identify the location. Speculatively, these were storage tanks owned by the Vyborskaya fuel company.
Ukrainian intelligence also indicated that strikes on Russian energy facilities would persist consistently until Russia ceases using its oil and gas sector for military purposes or withdraws its troops from Ukraine.
"The cost of Russian aggression for the Kremlin will continue to rise, already impacting their ability to supply even the domestic market with fuel," warned Ukrainian intelligence operatives.
On May 13, Ukrainian drones carried out extensive strikes on oil refineries in Russia. According to the news outlet Ukrainska Pravda, the Ukrainian Forces achieved around 80% accuracy in their strikes using domestically produced long-range drones, Lyutyi.