Massive fire erupts at Russia's Ryazan oil refinery as Ukrainian drone blitz hits multiple targets, oblasts

Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.

Ukraine's military reportedly launched a large-scale drone attack overnight on May 15, striking Russian military and energy infrastructure in multiple regions of Russia, the Special Operations Forces confirmed after reports emerged on social media.

Photos and videos posted on social media purported to show a massive fire emanating from what appears to be the Ryazan oil refinery amid a Ukrainian drone attack. Large plumes of smoke were seen over the city into the morning hours following the attack.

Local residents of the city of Ryazan reported several drones flying overhead before hearing multiple loud explosions in the area of the refinery.

The attack was confirmed by the Ukrainian military in the afternoon, with the Special Forces reporting a successful joint operation with the Unmanned Systems Forces and other branches of the military.

"Ukraine has clearly gained an ability to inflict pain on Russia in a way they couldn't previously," Hanna Notte, the director of the Eurasia Nonproliferation Program at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, told the Kyiv Independent.

"That ability is not going to go away."

Considered one of the largest oil refineries in Russia, the Ryazan Oil Refinery, which produces upwards of 17.1 million tons of oil per year, has been a regular target of attack given its role in fueling Russia's war machine.

Ryazan Oblast Governor Pavlo Malkova said that drone debris had struck an unspecified enterprise in the region, as well as several residential buildings.

The Russian governor further claimed that three people were killed and 12 were injured as a result of the Ukrainian attack.

The full extent of the damage caused was not immediately clear.

Elsewhere in Russia and across Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories, the long-range drone strikes have struck a Beriev Be-200 Altair aircraft and a Ka-27 helicopter in the Russian city of Yeysk, as well as a Tor-M2 air defense system in occupied Luhansk Oblast and a Pantsir-S1 air defense system in occupied Crimea, the Unmanned Systems Forces reported on May 15.

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

Ryazan is located and about 450 kilometers (280 miles) from Ukraine's northeastern border with Russia along Sumy Oblast, and 180 kilometers (120 miles) southeast of Moscow.

Moscow Mayor Sergiy Sobyanin reported that five Ukrainian drones were downed while approaching the Russian capital just before midnight on May 14. Moscow's Domodedovo and Sheremetyevo airports faced temporary ground halts amid the attack.

Explosions were also heard in Yevpatoria and Saky in occupied Crimea amid a drone attack on the region, the Telegram channel Crimean Wind reported.

Russia's Defense Ministry reported that 355 Ukrainian drones were downed over Russia overnight.

Ukraine's latest reported attack comes just one day after a deadly Russian missile and drone strike on Kyiv killed at least 21 people and injured at least 47 others.

In the aftermath of the attacks on Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelensky on May 14 said he had instructed Ukraine's military to prepare "possible formats for our response."

Ukrainian drones have increasingly targeted Russian oil and gas infrastructure in recent weeks, as part of a broader campaign to disrupt Moscow's energy revenues, a key source of funding for the Kremlin's war effort.

According to data compiled by Bloomberg, Ukraine's strikes on Russian oil infrastructure reached a four-month high in April, with at least 21 attacks on refineries, pipelines, and oil assets at sea recorded.