Ukraine says it struck Russian pipeline facility and oil depot

Ukraine says its drones hit an oil depot in southern Russia and a pumping station hundreds of kilometres from the front, as Kyiv continues to target energy infrastructure inside Russia. Russian officials confirmed strikes in the affected areas and reported fires at both sites. The incidents were reported in Russia's Kirov and Rostov regions, with local authorities in one town declaring a state of emergency.

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Kyiv said its forces struck a "dispatch station of a major oil pipeline" in Russia's Kirov region and an oil depot in the Rostov region near occupied Ukraine. The pipeline was described as carrying oil from Siberia to western Russia and Belarus. In Kirov, governor Alexander Sokolov said a Ukrainian drone had hit a "facility" and caused a fire, while claiming there were no casualties and urging residents to remain calm.

In Matveyev-Kurgan, local officials said the blaze at the oil depot spread over 3,600 square metres. Town head Dina Alborova said residential houses and several shops were affected by the fire. Images published by local officials showed thick black smoke rising from the site.

The declaration of a state of emergency in Matveyev-Kurgan underlines the scale of the disruption, even though the full extent of damage has not been independently verified. The strikes add to a pattern of Ukrainian attacks on Russian infrastructure that Kyiv says supports Moscow's war effort. The attacks matter because energy facilities are central to Russia's domestic fuel supply and wider export network.

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A pipeline dispatch station can be a key point in moving crude oil across long distances, while depots store fuel for local and regional use. Strikes on such sites can create immediate safety risks, disrupt logistics and increase pressure on Russian authorities to protect infrastructure far from the front line. They also fit into a broader phase of the war in which both sides have increasingly targeted rear-area assets.

The row comes as Kyiv has stepped up strikes on Moscow's infrastructure in the fifth year of the war, including targets as far as the Urals in recent weeks. Ukrainian officials have presented these attacks as part of a wider effort to weaken Russia's military and economic capacity. At the same time, Russian strikes continue to hit Ukrainian cities and infrastructure, including a warehouse in Dnipro belonging to the courier company Nova Poshta.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said all such attacks must stop and called for continued support for Ukraine's air defences. What remains unclear is the full scale of damage at the Kirov facility and the long-term impact on the pipeline system. It is also not clear whether there were any injuries in Rostov, beyond local reports of damage to nearby homes and shops.

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