Ukraine Strikes Russian Oil Refinery Ahead of Trump-Zelensky Talks
Source: Newsweek
Dec 28, 2025 at 09:21 AM EST
Ukraine struck a Russian oil refinery overnight, Kyiv's military said on Sunday, just ahead of a planned meeting between the country's President, Volodymyr Zelensky, and U.S. President Donald Trump in Florida this weekend.
Why It Matters
Kyiv has frequently homed in on infrastructure connected to Russian oil and energy exports to cut Kremlin off from funds used to support its war effort. Ukraine has upped its strikes in recent months. Kyiv carried out a record number of attacks on oil facilities in November, striking 14 times, Bloomberg reported at the start of December, as Moscow doubled down on its own assaults on Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
What To Know
Ukraine struck the Syzran oil refinery in Russia's Samara region, southeast of Moscow, with long-range drones, the Ukrainian military said in a statement. The attack caused a fire at the site, according to Kyiv, but Ukrainian authorities said the extent of the damage was still being assessed.
Russia's Defense Ministry said early on Sunday its air defenses had detected and taken out 25 Ukrainian drones overnight, nearly half of which were intercepted over Samara. Moscow did not reference an attack on oil facilities in the region. Ukraine said the site is capable of processing almost 9 million tons of oil each year and was supporting Russia's military.
Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/ukraine-strikes-russian-oil-refinery-trump-zelensky-talks-11276312
= new reply since forum marked as read
