Ukraine war latest: Russian brigade that committed war crimes in Bucha hit by Ukrainian drone strike, military says

Key developments on May 30-31:

• Russian brigade that committed war crimes in Bucha hit by Ukrainian drone strike, military says
• Ukraine reportedly strikes oil infrastructure, tanker in western Russia, occupied Crimea
• Key Russian oil pipeline node hit in massive Ukrainian drone barrage
• Ukrainian drones control airspace over Russian logistic routes in occupied Luhansk Oblast, 3rd Army Corps says

Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces (USF) struck the training grounds and military camps of Russia's 3rd and 36th Combined Arms Armies in an overnight drone operation on May 30, USF Commander Robert "Magyar" Brovdi reported.

The attack also struck the positions of Russia's 64th Separate Motorized Rifle brigade, one of the units responsible for the massacre of Ukrainian civilians in Bucha during the early days of the full-scale invasion.

Ukrainian drone pilots carried out a "middle strike" against Russian military positions overnight, hitting the 3rd Army "Trokhizbenka" training grounds in occupied Luhansk Oblast and 36th Army "Prymorskyi Posad" training grounds in occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Brovdi said. The latter camp was also used by the 64th brigade.

The military confirmed 21 total hits (13 and 8 at each target, respectively), Brovdi said.

The attacks were carried out by the USF's "Magyar Birds" and "Raid" units, part of the newly created Deep Strike Center, at a depth of 70 kilometers (43 miles) and 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the front line.

Details on Russian casualties are still under investigation, but Ukraine has thus far confirmed the losses of 31 personnel belonging to the 64th brigade. This includes nine soldiers killed, nine injured, and another 13 missing.

"Most likely, these figures are significantly underestimated," Brovdi said.

Casualties from the strike at the 3rd Army's training camp are still being confirmed.

The USF also hit a gas storage facility in Yenakiieve, occupied Donetsk Oblast, and Russian logistics in occupied Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts.

Russia's 64th Motorized Rifle Brigade was among the units that participated in the Bucha massacre in Kyiv Oblast during the Russian occupation between February and March 2022. A suburb northwest of Kyiv, Bucha became a symbol of Russian war crimes after mass graves were uncovered in April 2022 following its liberation by Ukrainian troops.

Over 1,400 civilians were killed in the Bucha District, including 637 in Bucha itself. Many were executed, their bodies left on the streets or buried in mass graves. Among the victims were 37 children.

The overnight attack on the 64th brigade's training camp represents the latest example of Ukraine's increasingly effective middle strike campaign on Russian front-line positions. These strikes hit targets at the operational level, between 20 and 200 kilometers from the line of contact.

Ukraine's medium-range drones attack ammunition depots, fuel storage sites, and command posts, forcing the Russian military to move these assets farther from the front lines and straining Moscow's logistics.

President Volodymyr Zelensky announced in early May that the number of Ukrainian middle strikes has increased "significantly."

Ukraine reportedly strikes oil infrastructure, tanker in western Russia, occupied Crimea

Ukraine's military reportedly struck oil infrastructure in various Russian and Russian-held territories overnight on May 30, Russian Telegram media channels reported.

Photos and videos posted on social media by local residents appear to show a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack on the Russian city of Taganrog in Rostov Oblast.

Rostov Oblast Govenor Yuri Slusar reported on Telegram that a fuel tank, oil tanker, and an administrative building in the port of Taganrog caught fire following a Ukrainian drone strike. Slusar further claimed that two people were injured in the city amid the attack.

Svetlana Kambulova, the mayor of Taganrog, claimed the drones struck loading infrastructure at the pier, with the fires having been quickly extinguished.

Explosions were also heard in the city of Feodosia in occupied Crimea around 3:20 a.m. local time, the Crimean Telegram channel reported, with residents reporting a burning oil depot in the city.

The Kyiv Independent cannot immediately verify the reports nor claims made by Russian officials.

Taganrog is a major Russian port city on the Sea of Azov in Rostov Oblast, just over 40 kilometers from the state border with the now-occupied part of Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast. The city has been frequently targeted by Ukrainian drone attack, with explosions last reported in the area overnight on May 27.

Ukraine's military has not yet commented on the reported strikes. No information was immediately available as to the extent of the damage caused.

Ukraine has increasingly relied on domestically produced drones to strike targets deep inside Russia, particularly facilities tied to oil refining, logistics, and defense production.

According to data compiled by the Poland-based media outlet Vot Tak, Ukraine's military has struck Russian oil refineries at least 158 times since the start of Russia's full-scale war in Ukraine.

Key Russian oil pipeline node hit in massive Ukrainian drone barrage

Ukrainian forces hit the Saratov oil refinery, along with several other Russian oil industry facilities, overnight on May 31, the General Staff confirmed.

At about 3 a.m. local time, Saratov Oblast Governor Roman Busargin warned of a possible drone attack on the region and said air defense systems could be activated. Later, Busargin said that the strike had damaged a civilian infrastructure facility, but did not disclose the type or location.

No one was injured in the attack, according to Busargin.

The attack appeared to unfold in several waves overnight. Russia's Defense Ministry said air defenses intercepted 216 Ukrainian drones over 10 Russian regions, including Saratov Oblast, as well as over occupied Crimea and the Sea of Azov.

The operation was carried out by pilots of the 1st Separate Center of the Unmanned Systems Forces in coordination with Ukraine's Special Operations Forces, military intelligence, and other units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

The General Staff confirmed a large fire at the facility, saying the refinery is one of the key regional installations and part of Russian energy giant Rosneft.

The plant has a processing capacity of around 7 million tons of crude oil annually and produces gasoline, diesel, and other fuels used in part to support Russia's military logistics, the General Staff added.

Ukraine also struck the Lazarevo Linear Production and Dispatch Station in Russia's Kirov Oblast, which pumps crude oil through the Surgut–Gorky–Polotsk main pipeline, as well as a fuel and lubricants depot in the town of Matveyev Kurgan in Rostov Oblast, according to the statement.

Ukraine's Special Operations Forces said the Lazarevo Linear Production and Dispatch Station is located 1,200 kilometers (746 miles) from Ukraine's border and is linked to the Druzhba main pipeline system, enabling the Kremlin to rapidly transfer oil between two of the largest pipeline networks in the European part of Russia.

The Special Operations Forces clarified that long-range Ukrainian drones also struck the Agroproduct oil depot in Matveyev Kurgan, with large storage tanks, road and rail loading terminals, and a pumping station.

The extent of the damage remains under assessment, the General Staff said.

The Kyiv Independent could not immediately verify the reports.

Saratov is a key industrial site in the region, located around 150 kilometers (about 100 miles) from Kazakhstan's border and roughly 600 kilometers (370 miles) east of the Ukrainian front line.

The Saratov refinery has been struck several times since the start of Russia's full-scale war in Ukraine, most recently in March when a large-scale drone attack caused a temporary halt in the facility's production.

Ukraine has increasingly relied on domestically produced drones to strike targets deep inside Russia, particularly facilities tied to oil refining, logistics, and defense production.

According to data compiled by the Poland-based media outlet Vot Tak, Ukraine's military has struck Russian oil refineries at least 159 times since the start of Russia's full-scale war in Ukraine.

Most recently, Ukraine's Special Operations Forces (SOF) and the General Staff reported that Volgograd oil refinery was struck by Ukrainian drones overnight on May 29.

Ukrainian drones control airspace over Russian logistic routes in occupied Luhansk Oblast, 3rd Army Corps says

Ukrainian drones have gained control over key Russian military supply routes in occupied parts of Luhansk Oblast, the Third Army Corps said on May 31 on Facebook.

"Luhansk Oblast is now under the control of drones from the Third Army Corps!" the statement read.

The development comes after pro-Russian media, citing Russia's Defense Ministry, claimed in April 2026 that Luhansk Oblast — parts of which have been contested since 2014 — had been fully occupied by Russian forces. The Third Army Corps later rejected those claims.

The corps commander, Brigadier General Andrii Biletskyi, announced on May 31 the launch of an operation in Luhansk Oblast and in Ukrainian ethnic territories historically known as Eastern Sloboda Ukraine, partially located in Russia's Kursk, Voronezh, and Belgorod regions.

"Luhansk, Starobilsk, Alchevsk, Brianka, and Kadiivka are now under the control of the Third Army Corps' unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)," Biletskyi said.

Ukrainian drones reached the Izvaryne checkpoint during one of its operations, more than 205 kilometers (127 miles) inside Russian-controlled territory in Luhansk Oblast, according to the Third Army Corps.

The operation was planned and led by the commander of a strike UAV platoon — a native of Luhansk Oblast with the call sign "Skhid" ("East" in English) — and targeted Russian armored vehicles and ammunition depots, the corps said.

The strikes are part of Ukraine's expanding middle strike campaign, targeting assets at the operational depth — roughly 20 to 300 kilometers (10 to 185 miles) from the front line. The campaign focuses on air defense systems, command posts, fuel and ammunition depots and logistics vehicles.

Within this broader effort, Ukraine's Air Force carried out a strike on Russian military infrastructure in occupied Luhansk Oblast on May 25, using Storm Shadow missiles, the General Staff said.

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