'Budanov's sanctions' — HUR confirms Ukrainian drone strike on Dagestan oil refinery

Ukrainian drones struck an oil refinery in Makhachkala, Dagestan, overnight on Oct. 22, a source in Ukraine's military intelligence has told the Kyiv Independent.

"On October 22, the Sargas unit... made a ruckus at an oil refinery in Makhachkala, Republic of Dagestan, Russia," the source said.

"At least one of the drones successfully attacked and disabled the AVT primary oil processing unit. After the explosion, a large-scale fire broke out at the plant."

Elsewhere, a mechanical plant in Saransk, Mordovia, was also attacked on Oct. 22, the Astra Telegram channel reported, citing local residents.

Russian air defenses intercepted 44 Ukrainian drones overnight and into the morning of Oct. 22, including eight over Dagestan, according to Russia's Defense Ministry. No drones were reportedly shot down over Mordovia.

Meanwhile, drones were sighted over Saransk, the largest city in Mordovia. Artyom Zdunov, the head of the republic, confirmed that the region had come under a large-scale drone attack, which caused damage to a local enterprise.

At least one drone struck the Saransk Mechanical Plant, a facility known to produce explosives, according to open-source intelligence analyzed by Astra.

The Saransk Mechanical Plant is part of the state-owned Rostec Corporation and manufactures equipment and components for various industries, with a primary focus on mechanical engineering and the defense sector.

In 2020, the plant was temporarily shut down for 90 days due to safety violations related to explosive production, according to the Russian business daily Kommersant.

In Makhachkala, drones targeted the Dagnotech oil refinery, according to Astra. Sergey Melikov, head of the Republic of Dagestan, confirmed that the region came under drone attack overnight, with one of the local enterprises being struck.

Makhachkala Mayor Dzhambulat Salavov initially posted on his Telegram channel that the drone attack had damaged several commercial facilities and two vehicles in the city. However, he deleted the post within 12 minutes. A photo included in the post showed not only damaged buildings but also military vehicles.

The Kyiv Independent cannot verify Russian officials' claims, and the Ukrainian government has not commented on these attacks.

Ukrainian forces targeted the Bryansk Chemical Plant using U.K.-supplied Storm Shadow missiles the day before. The operation was conducted jointly by Ukraine's Air Force in coordination with the Navy, Land Forces, and other military units.

Ukraine has previously used Storm Shadows to strike targets in Russia's Bryansk and Kursk oblasts, as well as in Russian-occupied Crimea.

The strikes on Russian facilities supporting the war effort in Ukraine come amid ongoing talks between Kyiv and Washington over the potential delivery of long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles.

President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed hope that enhancing Ukraine's long-range strike capabilities could increase pressure on Russia to seek a diplomatic resolution of the full-scale war.

Editorial: Europe, it’s time to finally be brave. Start with Russian assets

A few weeks ago, U.S. Special Envoy Keith Kellogg gently berated Europe for not standing on its own two feet on the global stage and in confrontation with Russia. “I don’t think the Europeans know how good they are, you’re really good at what you do, and you don’t need the United States with you in an alliance, you can handle things on your own,” he told the Warsaw Security Conference. “It’s like when my kids were ready to ride bicycles, they started with training wheels — you don’t need any t

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