Ukrainian Drone Strike Kills One, Damages Industrial Site, Russia Says
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Ukraine targeted at least one “industrial” site in the Russian city of Saratov, hundreds of miles from Ukrainian territory, the region’s governor said on Sunday, with a former Ukrainian security official telling Newsweek an “oil refinery is still burning.”
Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email.
Why It Matters
Ukraine routinely attacks Russia’s military and industrial sites with long-range drones, aiming to disrupt Moscow’s ability to keep its war effort against its neighbor grinding on.
Kyiv has repeatedly homed in on Russian oil refineries in Saratov and nearby Engels, which is a major hub for Moscow’s strategic bombers. Russia’s oil sector is under Western sanctions, but it still holds a major position in the global market.
What To Know
Roman Busargin, the governor of the Saratov region, said one person had died and an industrial building had sustained unspecified “damage.”
One drone landed in the courtyard of a residential building and the residents were evacuated to nearby temporary accommodation in a local school, Busargin said. A Kremlin-linked Telegram channel said glass was “broken on several floors,” with the outside of the building damaged and several parked cars set ablaze.
An image showing rising smoke, published by a Ukrainian official on Sunday after the governor of Russia’s Saratov region said Kyiv’s drones had targeted an “industrial” building in the city of Saratov overnight. An image showing rising smoke, published by a Ukrainian official on Sunday after the governor of Russia’s Saratov region said Kyiv’s drones had targeted an “industrial” building in the city of Saratov overnight. Andriy Kovalenko/Telegram
“Among the enemy’s targets in the Saratov region was an oil refinery,” one of Russia’s influential military bloggers said.
Saratov’s “oil refinery is still burning after Ukrainian drone strikes,” Ivan Stupak, a former official with Ukraine’s SBU security service, told Newsweek. Kyiv is trying to cause as “much economic disruption” as possible, he said.
Andriy Kovalenko, an official with Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, on Sunday posted an image to messaging app Telegram showing dark smoke billowing from what appears to be an industrial site in the distance, with the caption: “Saratov.” Newsweek could not independently verify the image.
Russia’s Saratov oil refinery was heavily hit by Ukrainian attack drones overnight, with the morning sun revealing multiple pillars of smoke and active fires raging across the refinery complex. pic.twitter.com/ZCtF6F1n7d
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) August 10, 2025
A Russian Telegram account with purported links to Moscow’s security services said Saratov residents had heard “at least 17 explosions” and reported “several fires.”
An unknown number of drones were reported in Engels, according to the account. Engels sits across the Volga River from Saratov, and is home to a significant chunk of Russia’s long-range bombers, which are able to carry both conventional and nuclear weapons.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said early on Sunday that between 8 p.m. on Saturday and shortly after 6 a.m. on Sunday Moscow time, the country’s air defenses had “destroyed and intercepted” 121 Ukrainian drones over 15 different regions, including the Crimean Peninsula Moscow annexed from Kyiv in 2014.
A total of eight Ukrainian drones were intercepted over Saratov, Moscow said.
Russia’s federal air transport agency imposed temporary restrictions on the airport at Saratov, state media reported.
Separately on Sunday, Kyiv said it had recaptured the village of Bezsalivka, a settlement in Ukraine’s Sumy region close to the border with Russia.
Moscow has been pressing down on northern Sumy since rolling back Ukraine’s presence in Kursk earlier this year. Kyiv had launched an offensive into the western Russian region in August 2024.
What People Are Saying
Saratov regional governor, Roman Busargin, said on Sunday: “There is damage at one of the industrial enterprises. All the necessary emergency services are working on the spot.”
What Happens Next
President Donald Trump announced Friday that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet in Alaska on August 15 for a high-stakes summit over the Ukraine war, after saying earlier in the day that it would be a “popular” setting “for a lot of reasons.”
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