Ukraine war latest: Ukraine hits oil refinery 2,000 from border in Russia's Komi Republic; Europe, Ukraine reject Putin's ceasefire proposal, WSJ reports
Key developments on Aug. 9-10:
- Ukrainian drones hit oil refinery 2,000 km from border in Russia's Komi Republic
- Ukraine liberates village in Sumy Oblast, General Staff says
- Drones strike Saratov oil refinery in Russia
- Ukraine, Europe reject Putin's ceasefire proposal, present counterproposal to US ahead of Trump-Putin meeting, WSJ reports
- Ukraine hits storage site for Shahed-type drones, imported parts in Russia's Tatarstan Republic
A Ukrainian drone attack on Aug. 10 struck the Lukoil-Ukhta oil refinery in Russia's Komi Republic, about 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles) from the Ukrainian border, a source in Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) told the Kyiv Independent.
HUR's comments confirm earlier reports from Russian media outlets and local officials that a refinery in Ukhta was struck by drones.
The attack marks Kyiv's first confirmed drone strike in Russia's northwestern Komi Republic.
Ukrainian drones hit the Lukoil-Ukhta refinery, which supplies Russian forces with fuel and lubricants, according to HUR. The refinery was targeted as part of a special operation by Ukraine's military intelligence.
The drones struck a petroleum tank, causing it to spill, HUR said. The attack also damaged a gas and gas condensate processing plant that produces propane-butane and gasoline.
Local residents also report power outages and mobile internet outages in Ukhta.
Earlier in the evening, local Telegram channels reported a drone attack in Ukhta targeting the Lukoil refinery, which authorities evacuated. The independent Russian media outlet Novaya Gazeta also said that flights at the airport were temporarily suspended.
Rostislav Goldshteyn, the acting head of the Komi Republic, said on social media that workers at enterprises in the drones' flight path were evacuated and that there were no casualties. He did not provide details on which enterprises were evacuated and did not mention an oil refinery in his post.
In June 2024, a large-scale fire was reported at the Lukoil refinery in Ukhta, though Russian officials said it was caused by "non-compliance with safety regulations" and not by a Ukrainian drone attack.
The Lukoil plant specializes in processing blended crudes from oilfields in the Komi Republic, shipped to the facility via the Usa-Ukhta pipeline.
The alleged strike on the Ukhta refinery comes shortly after reports that Ukrainian drones hit an oil refinery in Russia's Saratov Oblast on Aug. 10, causing explosions and a large fire.
Ukraine has deployed homemade long-range drones to hit oil depots, military sites, and airfields deep inside Russia, in an attempt to slowly grind down Russia's war machine.
Ukraine liberates village in Sumy Oblast, General Staff says
Ukrainian forces liberated the village of Bezsalivka on the state border with Russia in Sumy Oblast, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said on Aug. 10.
The General Staff's statement comes as Russia continues to try advancing deeper into Sumy Oblast more than two months after opening a new front in the northeast.
The General Staff said that it "eliminated" 18 Russian soldiers in the operation. The Kyiv Independent was unable to independently confirm the claim.
Bezsalivka is located adjacent about 30 kilometers west of the heavy fighting elsewhere in Sumy Oblast, where Russian troops have advanced to within 30 kilometers of the regional capital of Sumy.
The 33rd Assault Regiment and 24th Assault Battalion took part in the operation to liberate the village, according to the General Staff.
After Ukrainian forces' withdrawal from territory held in Russia's neighboring Kursk Oblast — taken during Kyiv's surprise cross-border incursion in summer 2024 — the border areas have seen an uptick in fighting.
Over May and June, Russian forces made signficant gains on Ukraine's side of Sumy Oblast shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the military to begin creating a "security buffer zone" along the border with Ukraine.
Ukraine's defense of the area stabilized over June, and in the end of July, pushed Russian forces out of several small villages.
Drones strike Saratov oil refinery in Russia
Drones attacked an oil refinery in Saratov on Aug. 10, sparking a large fire and explosions, according to local reports.
Footage posted on Russian social media showed what appeared to be drones overhead and the activation of air defense systems. Residents reported hearing a loud explosion before flames engulfed the facility.
Saratov Governor Roman Busargin confirmed damage at one of the region's industrial sites. One person was reported killed in the attack, and others were reported injured.
Reports also indicated air defense activity and explosions in the cities of Lipetsk and Voronezh.
The information came from local Telegram channels and could not be independently verified. Ukrainian officials have not commented on the incident.
Earlier, dozens of flights were delayed at Russia's Sochi airport following reported drone attacks. Ukrainian drones also targeted a storage facility in Russia's Tatarstan Republic which housed Shahed-type drones.
Ukraine, Europe reject Putin's ceasefire proposal, present counterproposal to US ahead of Trump-Putin meeting, WSJ reports
Ukrainian and European officials rejected Russian President Vladimir Putin's proposal for a ceasefire in exchange for Kyiv to cede its eastern territories to Russia, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Aug. 9.
The EU and Ukrainian officials instead offered a counterproposal to U.S. officials ahead of a planned meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Putin on Aug. 15 in Alaska.
Putin told U.S. envoy Wikoff during a meeting on Aug. 6 that Russia would agree to a full ceasefire if Kyiv withdrew its forces from Donetsk Oblast, giving Moscow full control of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, as well as Crimea.
President Volodymyr Zelensky firmly rejected on Aug. 9 the idea of ceding any Ukrainian territory to end Russia's war, with talks on the proposal beginning in the U.K. with U.S., Ukrainian, and EU officials on Aug. 9.
Two European officials familiar with the talks told the WSJ that Europe aims to draw a unified red line with Ukraine, insisting that EU officials should be involved in any potential peace negotiation with Russia and reiterating that Ukraine's future cannot be discussed without Kyiv's participation. The development comes as Trump has suggested he will include Ukraine in future negotiations only after an initial meeting with Putin.
The counterproposal presented to Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump's Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg and Witkoff, also demands that a ceasefire be enacted before further steps are taken, adding that territory can only be exchanged in a reciprocal manner, the news agency reported.
"You can't start a process by ceding territory in the middle of fighting," one European negotiator told the WSJ, amid Trump's comments on Aug. 8 that Moscow and Kyiv would likely include "some swapping of territories."
"Well you're looking at territory that's been fought over for three-and-a-half years... So we're looking at that, but we're actually looking to get some back," Trump said during a press conference alongside the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan. "Some swapping, it's complicated."
"We're going to get some back. We're going to get some switched. There will be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both," Trump added.
Expressing concern with the Washington's openness to begin negotiations surrounding the framework of Putin's proposal as well as skepticism toward Putin adhering to the ceasefire, a European official told the WSJ that "the proposal is much worse than Trump said on the call," with another adding that it gives "Putin everything he wants in exchange for nothing."
A senior European official said that any agreement reached in Alaska between the U.S. and Russia would not hold much weight without the participation of European leaders.
Amid Europe's disapproval of the initial proposal, Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund, said on Telegram earlier in the day that unspecified European countries will make "titanic efforts to disrupt the planned meeting between President Putin and President Trump," adding that such efforts amount to "provocations and disinformation."
Ukraine hits storage site for Shahed-type drones, imported parts in Russia's Tatarstan Republic
Drones operated by Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) struck on Aug. 9 a storage facility in Russia's Tatarstan Republic housing Shahed-type drones and foreign components used in their assembly, the agency reported.
This is not Ukraine's first strike on Tatarstan since the beginning of the full-scale war in 2022, as the region's Alabuga Special Economic Zone is home to a facility that manufactures Shahed-type long-range attack drones and other reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
Ukrainian drones from the Security Service's Special Operations Center "A" flew roughly 1,300 kilometers (about 800 miles) to strike a logistics hub in the village of Kizil-Yul, igniting a fire at the site, the SBU's statement read.
"The Security Service (of Ukraine) continues its systematic efforts to demilitarize Russian military facilities deep inside enemy territory. Storage sites for Shahed drones, which the enemy uses to terrorize Ukraine every night, are among our legitimate military targets," SBU said.
The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify the claims.
Russia has not officially commented on the reported strikes.
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