Ukraine Targets Russian Refinery and Missile Plant Amid Power Cuts

Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians lost electricity on Sunday after Russian forces struck power infrastructure in four regions overnight, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said. The strikes occurred while a six-day local ceasefire around the town of Oleshky held on its final day. Fighting continued elsewhere along the front line, and both sides maintained long-range air attacks.

Zelenskiy posted on Telegram that the intensity of the strikes was very high. He stated that Russia was seeking to exploit a deficit in ballistic missile interceptors. Ukraine reported hitting the Kamensky plant in Rostov region, which manufactures Russian missiles. Moscow did not comment on the Rostov attack.

In Nizhny Novgorod region, Governor Gleb Nikitin reported that a large-scale overnight drone attack caused significant damage to an industrial facility. He did not identify the specific site, though the region contains the NORSI oil refinery, one of Russia's largest. The regional government urged motorists to buy fuel only as needed and avoid panic buying. This warning suggests the damaged facility was linked to oil-refining or fuel-supply infrastructure.

Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces downed 235 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions overnight. Ukraine's air force reported shooting down 371 of 433 long-range drones launched by Russia since Saturday evening. The air force noted that dozens of Russian drones were still in the air as of Sunday morning. Six separate drone alerts were issued in Kyiv since midnight.

On Friday, Russia accused Ukraine of ignoring a request from US President Donald Trump to stop striking oil refineries. Trump has linked these attacks to rising diesel costs ahead of US midterm elections scheduled for next week. Ukraine supports a full ceasefire on energy targets, including its own power grid, but says Moscow is unwilling to agree to such a pause.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak appeared on state TV channel Vesti on Sunday. He did not mention the Nizhny Novgorod strike. He said Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries were adding to global fuel market imbalances and affecting prices.