MOSCOW (Reuters) -Ukraine struck Russia with at least 75 drones on Thursday, sparking a fire in an industrial area of the southern city of Volgograd, killing at least one and halting dozens of flights across the country, Russian officials said.
Ukraine has for several months been striking Russian oil refineries, depots and pipelines in a bid to undermine the Russian economy as Russian forces advance in eastern Ukraine.
Volgograd Governor Andrei Bocharov said a 48-year-old man was killed by shrapnel and that a fire was sparked in an industrial zone in the Krasnoarmeysk district of the city, which was formerly known as Stalingrad.
The district is home to Lukoil’s major Volgograd refinery which has been repeatedly targetted by Ukraine. In 2024 the Volgograd refinery processed 13.7 million metric tons of oil, or 5.1% of the total volume at Russian refineries.
Russia’s defence ministry said that 75 Ukrainian drones were downed overnight, including 49 in the Volgograd region.
Russian media said that 13 airports across Russia halted flights amid the drone attack.
Russia said on Wednesday that its forces were advancing north inside Pokrovsk in a drive to take full control of the Ukrainian city.
Russia’s military says it now controls more than 19% of Ukraine, or some 116,000 square km (44,800 square miles).
Pro-Ukrainian maps show that Russia has taken more than 3,400 square km of Ukrainian territory so far this year – the same maps say that at the end of 2023, Russia controlled 18% of Ukraine.
(Reporting by Reuters; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)
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