Oil refinery, fuel depots, air defense systems hit in large-scale Ukrainian strikes across Russia and occupied territories, General Staff confirms
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Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
Ukraine’s General Staff on May 8 confirmed a series of coordinated strikes carried out by Ukraine’s Defense Forces against strategic Russian military and energy infrastructure in multiple regions of Russia and occupied Ukrainian territories.
According to the statement, Ukrainian forces struck the Yaroslavl Oil Refinery in Russia’s Yaroslavl Oblast, causing a fire on the facility’s territory. The extent of the damage is still being assessed.
The refinery is considered one of the key enterprises in Russia’s oil refining sector, with an annual processing capacity of approximately 15 million tons of oil products, including gasoline, diesel fuel, and jet fuel used to support Russia’s military logistics.
President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier confirmed that Ukrainian forces had targeted an oil infrastructure facility in Yaroslavl that was "of great importance for financing Russia’s war."
"Ukraine's long-range sanctions remain in effect in response to Russian strikes on our cities and villages," Zelensky said. "Russia must choose genuine peace, and only strong pressure will ensure it."
Photos and videos posted by local residents to social media purport to show a fire emanating from the Slavneft-YANOS oil refinery in the city of Yaroslavl amid the attack.
The Slavneft-YANOS refinery is one of Russia's five largest and is capable of producing over 15 million tons per year.
Yaroslavl is located about 700 kilometers (435 miles) from Ukraine's border with Russia and lies approximately 230 kilometers (142 miles) northeast of Moscow, while Rostov-on-Don is situated in southern Russia roughly 230 kilometers (140 miles) from the front line in Ukraine.
The General Staff also confirmed a strike on a drone storage facility in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, followed by a fire at the site.
Operations at the regional center in Rostov-on-Don, which manages air traffic in southern Russia, were also temporarily suspended after Ukrainian drones struck the administrative building of the Southern Russia Air Navigation branch, Russia's Transport Ministry said.
As a result, Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) introduced temporary restrictions at 13 airports across southern Russia, including Sochi, Krasnodar, Grozny, Mineralnye Vody, and Volgograd, while airlines and airports were forced to revise flight schedules.
The Association of Russian Tour Operators said more than 80 flights had been delayed or canceled at southern Russian airports as of 10 a.m. local time, with at least 14,000 passengers awaiting departure.
Rostov-on-Don Mayor Alexander Skryabin said he had convened an emergency commission meeting, during which a decision was made to declare a state of emergency in the Zheleznodorozhny District, where damage was caused by a drone crash.
Additional Ukrainian strikes targeted the "Luhanska" oil depot in occupied Luhansk, as well as fuel and lubricant storage warehouses near Petropavlivka and Novomykilske in occupied Luhansk Oblast.
Ukrainian forces also struck a Russian repair and maintenance unit in occupied Rovenky, communication hubs near Zelenopillia, Novomykhailivka, and Kinski Rozdory in occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
Among the air defense assets reportedly destroyed were a Russian Tor-M2 surface-to-air missile system near Mykhailivka in Zaporizhzhia Oblast and a Kasta-2E radar station near Mysove in occupied Crimea.
Ukraine regularly conducts long-range drone strikes against Russian military and industrial infrastructure used to sustain Moscow’s war effort against Ukraine.
