Ukraine Drone Raids Hit Russian Oil Sites as Moscow Strikes Back Overnight

Ukraine carried out overnight drone operations against Russian energy sites in several regions, with the heaviest reported damage in Taganrog in Rostov Oblast. Russia’s state-run RIA Novosti news agency said drones hit a tanker, a fuel tank and an administrative building, causing a major fire at the port.

Rostov Governor Yury Slyusar confirmed the strike early Saturday on Max, a Russian state-backed messaging platform. “A tanker, a fuel tank, and an administrative building caught fire at the port of Taganrog as a result of a drone attack,” Slyusar wrote. “According to preliminary information, there are no casualties. The information is being clarified.”

Two civilians were also hurt in Taganrog after a drone hit a private residence. “Tonight, civilians were injured again as a result of an air strike on Taganrog,” Slyusar said. “According to preliminary information, two people were injured when a drone struck a private home. Medics are providing assistance and doing everything necessary.”

Slyusar said Russian air defence units intercepted several drones during the night in four areas of Rostov. “During the repulse of an air attack on the Rostov region at night, UAVs were destroyed in the city of Taganrog, Chertkovsky, Matveyevo-Kurgansky, and Neklinovsky districts,” he said, according to RIA Novosti.

In Grekovo-Timofeyevka, a drone damaged a household gas pipe, which then caught fire. Residents were moved from the area, and no deaths or injuries were reported. Slyusar also said windows were broken in two homes in Botsmanovo, in the Neklinovsky District, but nobody was injured.

Other Ukrainian drone attacks hit an oil site in Armavir, Krasnodar Krai, and large fuel tanks caught fire near Yaroslavl. Russia’s Volgograd oil refinery also had to stop operations after drone strikes.

Taganrog has come under attack several times in recent months. Authorities said a drone strike on the city in late March 2026 killed one person and injured eight others.

Russia, in turn, fired 90 drones and two Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles at Ukraine overnight. In Zaporizhzhia, strikes on energy facilities left about 13,000 people without power. Ukrainian local media reported damage in the Sumy region to infrastructure, houses and vehicles.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that Moscow was preparing another major offensive. “We possess intelligence indicating that Russia is organising a new large-scale assault. Our services are reacting swiftly and are ready,” Zelenskyy said on Telegram.

Zelenskyy urged Ukrainians to safeguard their lives and appealed to partner countries to speed up deliveries of Patriot missile systems.

The warning followed Russia’s call for foreign nationals to leave Kyiv, saying it intended to carry out a “series of systematic strikes” on defence infrastructure that Moscow claims is spread across the Ukrainian capital.

A Russian drone also crashed into an apartment building in eastern Romania on Friday, injuring two people and increasing tensions between Moscow and NATO.