Ukraine’s armed forces on Sunday claimed that they had struck an oil refinery in Russia’s Saratov region in an overnight drone attack, as images and videos on social media showed a large plume of smoke
and a fire at the site.
In a statement, the General Staff said the strike on the Saratov oil refinery had caused explosions and a fire. One person was killed, and several apartments were damaged in the Ukrainian drone attack on Saturday.
Saratov Governor Roman Busargin said on the Telegram app that residents were evacuated after debris from a destroyed drone damaged three apartments in the overnight attack. “Aid was provided onsite, and one person has been hospitalised. Unfortunately, one person has died,” he said.
The EU will eventually announce the 178th sanctions package against russia, which is again far too weak.
The Ukrainian “sanction packages” always work immediately – last night, the oil refinery in Saratov was successfully attacked. pic.twitter.com/ljmfOOSg31
— Jürgen Nauditt 🇩🇪🇺🇦 (@jurgen_nauditt) August 10, 2025
Russia’s Saratov oil refinery is ablaze tonight after multiple Ukrainian attack drone impacts. pic.twitter.com/64wmGdmOg6
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) August 10, 2025
Russia’s defence ministry said its air defence units had destroyed 121 Ukrainian drones overnight, including eight over the Saratov region. Social media footage showed thick black smoke rising over what looked like an industrial zone.
At least eight explosions were heard over the cities of Saratov and Engels, as Russia’s civil aviation authority suspended flights in and out of Saratov briefly to ensure air safety.
The Rosneft-owned refinery in Saratov was forced to suspend operations earlier this year for safety reasons after Ukrainian drone attacks, industry sources told Reuters.
Ukraine Takes Back Sumy Village
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military also said it had taken back a village in the Sumy region from the Russian army, which has made significant recent gains in the territory. The General Staff said Ukrainian troops liberated and completely cleared” Russian forces from Bezsalivka, killing 18 Russian soldiers in the fighting.
The village is on the frontline in the north of the country and about 20 km west of the main fighting between the two armies in the northern region. Russian troops are currently about 20 km from the regional capital of Sumy, which has been the target of frequent deadly shelling attacks.
The fighting between Russia and Ukraine continues as Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump are set to meet in the US state of Alaska this Friday to try to resolve the three-year conflict, despite warnings from Ukraine and Europe that Kyiv must be part of negotiations.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Saturday that Ukraine won’t surrender land to Russia to buy peace. “Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier,” he said on social media.
(with inputs from agencies)
