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Ukraine launches drone attacks on several Russian regions, officials say

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A Ukrainian serviceman of the 82nd Separate Air Assault Brigade prepares for combat Challenger 2 tank in an undisclosed location near frontline in Zaporizhzhia region, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.  (Genya Savilov/AFP)
A Ukrainian serviceman of the 82nd Separate Air Assault Brigade prepares for combat Challenger 2 tank in an undisclosed location near frontline in Zaporizhzhia region, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Genya Savilov/AFP)
  • Ukraine launched drone attacks on Russia, an official claims.
  • Reports indicate no injuries.
  • Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered swifter delivery of weapons for the war.


Ukraine launched drones on several Russian regions in hours leading to Wednesday morning, Russian officials said, with unofficial Russian news outlets reporting a fire at the Ryazan oil refinery after the attack.

Pavel Malkov, governor or the Ryazan region, which shares a border with the Moscow region in its northwestern parts, said that there were no injuries in the drone attacks there.

Russian Telegram channel Baza, which is close to the security services, reported that the attack sparked a fire at the Ryazan oil refinery.

The refinery, owned and run by Rosneft, refines about 5.8% of Russia's total refined crude. 

It has been a frequent target for Ukraine's air attacks.

READ | Ukraine warns front 'worsened' for it, as Russia claims fresh gains in Donetsk

The governors of the Kursk and Voronezh regions in southwest Russia that border Ukraine also reported drone attacks on their territories, saying there was no damage or injuries.

Russia rarely discloses information about the full impact of Ukraine's attacks on its territory and infrastructure.

Ukrainian artillerymen work at a position on the f
Ukrainian artillerymen work at a position on the front line near Bakhmut in the Donetsk region. (Genya Savilov/AFP)

Kyiv officials say targeting Russia's military, energy and transport infrastructure undermines Moscow's war effort.

Reuters could not independently verify the Russian reports.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered more, and swifter, delivery of weapons for Moscow's military operation in Ukraine, the Russian defence ministry said on Wednesday.

Russia, which calls its war in Ukraine a special military operation, now controls just under a fifth of Ukraine's territory, the bulk seized during the first months of the war it launched in February 2022.

At a meeting with the top military command for Moscow's fight in Ukraine, the chief of the general staff, Valery Gerasimov, who oversees the operation, delivered a report to Shoigu, the ministry said on the Telegram messaging app.

"To maintain the required pace of the offensive... it is necessary to increase the volume and quality of weapons and military equipment supplied to the troops, primarily weapons," it cited Shoigu as saying in a statement posted on Telegram.

A Ukrainian artilleryman stands next to a 152mm to
A Ukrainian artilleryman stands next to a 152mm towed gun-howitzer D-20 on the front line near Bakhmut, eastern Ukraine. (Genya Savilov/AFP)

With Kyiv blaming lack of weapons, Russian forces have made nearly daily tactical advances in recent weeks along the frontline in Ukraine's southeast.

Russia has taken about half a dozen villages in the Donetsk region, while firming up battlefield positions in the Kharkiv region.

Ukraine risks losing more ground if the West does not deliver weapons quickly, Kyiv's top commander, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, warned on Sunday.

He was announcing the retreat of his troops from villages near Avdiivka, an eastern Ukrainian stronghold captured earlier this year by Russia.

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