Ukraine has escalated its cross-border drone campaign with strikes deep inside Russian territory, targeting a major oil depot in the Oryol region and leaving a nine-year-old boy dead in Belgorod. These strikes come as Kyiv struggles to recover from one of the heaviest bombardments of its energy infrastructure by Moscow since the invasion began nearly three years ago.
Russian officials reported that drones targeted the Stalnoi Kon facility in Oryol late Friday, igniting a massive blaze at the oil depot that supplies fuel to Russia's military. Videos shared on social media showed flames engulfing storage tanks, sending plumes of thick smoke into the night sky. Governor Andrey Klychkov confirmed the fire had been contained by Saturday, and no casualties were reported.
In Belgorod, a separate drone strike hit a residential area, killing a nine-year-old boy and injuring his mother and infant sibling, according to Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov. Photos released by authorities showed a family home reduced to rubble, with its roof and walls blown apart.
Ukraine's General Staff claimed responsibility for the Oryol strike, stating that the operation targeted infrastructure critical to Russia's military logistics. The attack follows a recent trend of Ukrainian forces using drones to penetrate deep into Russian territory in an effort to disrupt supply lines and fuel operations.
The strikes on Russian soil came just a day after Moscow launched an extensive aerial assault on Ukraine. On Friday, Russia unleashed 93 cruise and ballistic missiles alongside nearly 200 drones, according to Ukrainian officials. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the attacks a deliberate effort to "terrorize millions of people," as the bombardment caused significant damage to Ukraine's energy facilities.
Ukraine's air force reported that it intercepted 58 of the incoming drones, while others were diverted through electronic jamming. Despite these efforts, the strikes damaged infrastructure across multiple regions, prompting widespread power outages. State energy operator Ukrenergo warned that the blackouts could worsen as the nation struggles to repair its battered grid.
Moscow claimed Friday's strikes were retaliation for Ukraine's use of U.S.-supplied Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMs) earlier in the week to attack a Russian air base. The Russian Defense Ministry said its recent assault targeted "critically important fuel and energy facilities in Ukraine" that support its military operations.
Kyiv has increasingly employed drones to target military and energy sites within Russia, including a recent strike on the Druzhba pipeline near Bryansk. That attack set fire to an oil-loading station used to supply diesel fuel to Russian tanks and railway systems.
Oryol's Governor Klychkov said local air defenses intercepted 11 drones during the latest attack but acknowledged the significant damage to the depot. Images from the scene showed firefighters battling to contain the blaze, which continued to smolder into Saturday morning.
The energy war between Ukraine and Russia has intensified, with both sides targeting critical infrastructure to gain an advantage. Kyiv accuses Moscow of using missile and drone swarms to systematically destroy its power grid, plunging millions of Ukrainians into darkness as winter approaches. Meanwhile, Ukraine's strikes on Russian oil facilities aim to undermine the Kremlin's ability to sustain its military operations.
