[UPDATED: Aug. 10, 3:22 pm , Kyiv time. Updated with comments from the General Staff of the Ukrainian military]
Ukrainian drones struck oil refineries in Russia’s Saratov region overnight on Sunday, Aug. 10, sparking fires and sending plumes of smoke into the air.
Videos from locals, shared by Russian outlet Astra, showed towering red flames lighting up thick plumes of smoke against the purple dawn.
Saratov Regional Governor Roman Busargin confirmed that drone strikes took place in the early hours of Sunday, acknowledging that “one of the industrial enterprises” was hit without specifying whether it was the oil refineries.
The region, located approximately 500 kilometers (311 miles) from the Ukrainian border in the Kharkiv region, is home to Russia’s Engels-2 strategic air base and an assortment of oil facilities.
Busargin first warned of possible drone strikes at 2:49 a.m. on Telegram before reporting damages to the industrial site approximately an hour later.
“There is damage at one of the industrial enterprises. All necessary emergency services are working at the scene,” Busargin wrote.
At 4:20 a.m., Busargin said one person died from the attack after a drone “fell in the courtyard of a residential building.”
The level of damage dealt to the facilities remains unclear.
Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) reported flight restrictions for Saratov’s Gagarin International Airport at around 3 a.m. that were subsequently lifted at around 5 a.m., coinciding with the time of the reported attack.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense claimed to have downed 121 Ukrainian drones overnight between 8 p.m. on Saturday and 6:10 a.m. on Sunday Moscow time in its Sunday morning update, eight of which were in the Saratov region.
The General Staff of the Ukrainian military later confirmed the strike, noting that it was carried out by the Unmanned Systems Forces alongside other branches of the military.
In a Facebook update, the General Staff said the attack targeted the Saratov Oil Refinery, and the goal is to curb Russian revenue from oil sales, through which Moscow has used to sustain its war in Ukraine.
“The Saratov Oil Refinery is one of the key fuel infrastructure facilities of the Russian Federation, involved in providing the occupation forces with petroleum products. Its annual refining capacity is up to 7 million tons of oil,” the statement says.
“The Defense Forces of Ukraine continue to systematically take measures aimed at reducing the military-economic potential of the enemy in order to force him to stop armed aggression against our state,” it adds.
The strike came after US President Donald Trump’s Friday deadline for Moscow to move toward a ceasefire passed – without resulting in sanctions or a ceasefire.
Trump had earlier threatened additional sanctions on Russia’s energy sector – a key lifeline for its economy and a source of funding for the war in Ukraine – in a bid to push Moscow into negotiations.
set for Aug. 15 in Alaska – without Ukraine’s participation.
