Ukraine Launches Massive Assault on Russia

(MENAFN) Russian authorities confirmed Tuesday that Ukrainian forces struck an oil refinery and an electrical equipment manufacturing plant overnight in one of the war's most expansive drone offensives to date, leaving at least three people wounded across multiple regions.

Russia's Defense Ministry stated that Kyiv unleashed a massive overnight drone attack, with Moscow coming close to neutralizing nearly 300 unmanned aerial vehicles across 15 Russian regions. In its official statement, the ministry said "air defense systems intercepted and destroyed 289 Ukrainian fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles" overnight.

The figure, however, was contested. Ukraine's Unian news agency reported a significantly higher drone count, claiming some 200 drones were launched against the capital Moscow alone — suggesting the full scale of the assault may substantially exceed Russian tallies.

Among the hardest-hit areas was the Leningrad region, where Governor Alexander Drozdenko said 29 Ukrainian drones were neutralized overnight. The assault ignited fires within the Kirishi industrial zone, home to a major oil refinery, he announced via Telegram.

"The fire in the Kirishi industrial zone has been contained, and firefighting efforts are being completed. The enemy's primary target was KINEF oil refinery. There are no casualties as a result of the attack," the governor noted.

Further east, in the city of Cheboksary, a facility engaged in the development and production of electrical equipment was struck directly by Ukrainian drones, injuring three people. Regional authorities confirmed the toll in a formal statement Tuesday.

"According to operational information, three people were injured as a result of a drone attack in the city of Cheboksary," the statement read.

The assault on Cheboksary extended beyond industrial targets. Two residential buildings were also struck, forcing evacuations of local residents. Street traffic in surrounding areas was disrupted, and civic institutions — including schools and colleges — shuttered in response, the city administration confirmed.

Kyiv has not yet issued a response to Russia's account of the overnight strikes. As with much of the reporting throughout the conflict, independent verification of the competing claims remains extremely difficult given ongoing wartime conditions on the ground.

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