Ukraine war latest: Ukrainian drones score 'successful hit' on Russia's Ryazan Oil Refinery, General Staff says
Key developments on Dec. 6-7:
- Ukrainian drones score 'successful hit' on Russia's Ryazan Oil Refinery, General Staff says
- Chornobyl protective shield 'lost its primary safety functions' after Russian drone strike, UN nuclear agency warns
- Ukraine reports frontline gain in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast as Russia advances in Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts
- Ukraine braces for 'critical damage' after Russian strike on Kharkiv Oblast dam threatens water supply
- 'Happy Ukrainian Armed Forces Day' — hackers deface website of Russian company delivering military goods, HUR source claims
Ukrainian forces scored another "successful hit" on Russia's Ryazan Oil Refinery overnight on Dec. 5-6, the General Staff has confirmed, marking the ninth such strike on the refinery this year.
"The Ryazan Refinery, with a design capacity of 17.1 million tons of oil per year, is one of the largest oil refining enterprises in the Russian Federation," the General Staff said in a post on social media.
"A hit and a fire were recorded at the facility. The results and extent of damage are being clarified."
The post also claimed a strike on the Alchevsk Metallurgical Plant in Russian occupied Luhansk Oblast, a facility that produces artillery shells for the Russian army.
Local residents reported the attack on the refinery amid reports of a wider drone attack on the region. Purported video of the attack posted to social media shows flames and smoke billowing from the refinery.
For the 9 time this year, drones have attacked the oil refinery in Ryazan, according to ASTRA’s analysis pic.twitter.com/tj7Aj0z5ZO
— ASTRA (@ASTRA_PRESS) December 6, 2025
Ryazan Oblast Governor Pavel Malkov confirmed reports of the drone but did not mention a strike on the refinery. Malkov said that a "fire was quickly extinguished" in the region amid falling drone debris, claiming that no casualties or "serious damage" occurred as a result.
Russia's Defense Ministry later claimed that air defense had shot down 29 drones over Ryazan Oblast.
The Kyiv Independent cannot verify claims made by Russian officials.
Chornobyl protective shield 'lost its primary safety functions' after Russian drone strike, UN nuclear agency warns
The protective shield built to prevent radiation leaking from the Chornobyl nuclear power plant needs to be repaired promptly after a drone strike earlier this year damaged the steel structure, the International Atomic Energy Agency said on Dec. 5.
Ukraine has been repairing the massive sarcophagus since the Russian drone strike on Feb. 14. However, following an assessment last week, the IAEA said that the severely damaged structure had "lost its primary safety functions, including the confinement capability."
While temporary repairs have been carried out, "timely and comprehensive restoration remains essential" to ensure Ukraine’s long-term nuclear safety, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said.
Further temporary repair work to the shield will begin next year with support from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), clearing the path for its "full restoration" post-war.
The shield was first installed in 2019 around the destroyed 4th reactor at the plant. Back in April, the then-Environment Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk warned that the sarcophagus had partially lost its functionality and needed to be repaired to prevent leaks.
It was designed to enclose the unstable sarcophagus hastily built after the 1986 reactor explosion — the worst nuclear accident in history.
Russia’s drone strike caused a fire that burned the outer cladding of the shelter, although it did not cause a spike in radiation levels. Monitoring efforts have been in place, with an IAEA mission permanently located at the plant.
"This is a terrorist threat to the entire world," President Volodymyr Zelensky said following the February attack.
"The only country in the world that attacks such sites, occupies nuclear power plants, and wages war without any regard for the consequences is today's Russia."
Ukraine reports frontline gain in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast as Russia advances in Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts
Amid an ongoing Russian offensive, Ukraine has liberated a village in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, as Russian forces made gains in Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, the Ukrainian open-source mapping project DeepState and Ukraine's military reported.
Ukraine's 67th Mechanized Brigade liberated the village of Tykhe in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast and raised the national flag, the brigade wrote in Facebook post on Dec. 6 that included a video of the operation.
On Nov. 21, Russian channels released a video showing soldiers waving flags near Oleksandrivka and claiming that the "East" Group had captured the settlements of Tykhe and Vidradne, the brigade said.
"But through coordinated, well-planned, and decisive actions, Ukraine's 67th Separate Mechanized Brigade expelled Russian forces from Tykhe and fully cleared the village of occupiers," it added.
Meanwhile, DeepState reported on Dec. 7 that Russian troops advanced near the settlement of Yampil in Kramatorsk district, Donetsk Oblast, and occupied Solodke in Polohiv district, Zaporizhzhia Oblast — part of a larger trend of steady Russian advances ahead of the winter fighting season.
The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify the claims.
Solodke lies just northeast of the small city of Huliaipole, which is now threatened by Russia's push into eastern Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
Yampil is located north of the town of Siversk, which blocks Russian advances toward the larger urban cluster of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk to the west.
Military analysts say that if Russia consolidates gains around Siversk, it could increase pressure on that defensive line by opening up new avenues of attack.
Ukraine braces for 'critical damage' after Russian strike on Kharkiv Oblast dam threatens water supply
Russia attacked the Pechenihy reservoir dam in Kharkiv Oblast on Dec. 7, forcing a traffic closure on the dam's roadway, Pechenihy Mayor Oleksandr Husarov reported.
The Pechenihy reservoir supplies water to Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city.
Husarov announced that traffic had been suspended as of 12 p.m. local time after a direct hit on the dam. His report did not provide details as to the type of attack or extent of the damage.
The Ukrainian military said it was prepared for the dam to be "critically damaged" and was ready to implement emergency response plans.
"The Ukrainian side has long been aware of the potential risks and is ready for the dam to be critically damaged. Appropriate response plans were developed in advance," Ukraine's 16th Army Corps said.
The Pechenihy dam is "a critically important facility that provides water supply, ecosystem stability, and security for dozens of settlements in Kharkiv Oblast," the unit said, adding that Russia's attack represents "a gross violation of international humanitarian law and qualifies as a war crime."
Russia has previously targeted the Pechenihy dam with missile, drone, and guided bomb attacks. In recent days, attacks near the reservior have intensified, according to the 16th Army Corps.
Russia routinely launches attacks targeting Ukraine's critical infrastructure, including reservoirs, dams, and pipelines. In June 2023, Russia blew up the Kakhovka Reservoir dam in Kherson Oblast, triggering one of the largest ecological and humanitarian disasters of the full-scale war.
'Happy Ukrainian Armed Forces Day' — hackers deface website of Russian company delivering military goods, HUR source claims
Ukrainian hackers launched a massive cyberattack on a Russian company responsible for shipping sanctioned goods and military components, wiping out 165 terabytes of critical data, sources within Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR), told the Kyiv Independent on Dec. 6.
The hacker group BO Team, working alongside HUR, targeted the Eltrans+ group of companies, a logistics and transportation firm used by over 5,000 Russian businesses. The cyberattack took down over 700 computers and servers and deleted accounts of more than 1,000 Eltrans+ users," HUR claimed.
Following the attack, the company’s website congratulated Russian users on Ukraine’s Armed Forces Day, a celebration of the military on Dec. 6. The hack also reportedly deleted surveillance footage and cargo declarations.
"Eltrans+ is engaged in the delivery of sanctioned goods, as well as various electronic components from China, which are used by the Russian military-industrial complex," HUR said.
Ukraine and Russia both regularly exchange blows on the cyber battlefield as well as the physical frontline.
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