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Ukrainian drones hit oil refinery in Russia's Ryazan, Ukraine says

By Reuters Reuters
Fire and a thick plume of smoke rise in the vicinity of the Ryazan oil refinery, amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict in Ryazan, Ryazan region, Russia, May 15, 2026, in this screen grab obtained from a social media video. Social Media/via REUTERS
Fire and a thick plume of smoke rise in the vicinity of the Ryazan oil refinery, amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict in Ryazan, Ryazan region, Russia, May 15, 2026, in this screen grab obtained from a social media video. Social Media/via REUTERS SOCIAL MEDIA Reuters

KYIV - Ukrainian drones have struck an oil refinery in Russia's central city of Ryazan, the commander of the Ukrainian drone forces said on Friday.

Ryazan is located about 200 km (120 miles) southeast of Moscow. Robert Brovdi, the drone forces commander, also said that his troops hit overnight 23 military targets and facilities in Russia and also on occupied Ukrainian territory.

The General Staff of Ukraine's military confirmed the strike on the refinery, saying that a large fire broke out at the facility.

It described the refinery as one of the largest in Russia, saying its refining capacity was around 17 million metric tons of crude oil per year.

It added that a small missile boat and a minesweeper at the Kaspiysk base on the Caspian Sea have been struck.

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk, Olena Harmash, Anna Pruchnicka; Editing by Toby Chopra and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect.

This story was originally published May 15, 2026 at 5:05 AM.

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