Ukraine Hits Major Russian Oil Refinery11/06 06:03

   Ukrainian drones struck a major oil refinery in Russia's Volgograd region 
for the second time in almost three months, Ukraine's general staff said 
Thursday. Russian officials did not confirm the attack, although the local 
governor said drones started a fire at an unspecified industrial facility in 
the region.

   KYIV, Ukraine (AP) -- Ukrainian drones struck a major oil refinery in 
Russia's Volgograd region for the second time in almost three months, Ukraine's 
general staff said Thursday. Russian officials did not confirm the attack, 
although the local governor said drones started a fire at an unspecified 
industrial facility in the region.

   Ukraine's general staff said in a statement that the attack took place the 
previous day. The refinery is the largest producer of fuel and lubricants in 
Russia's Southern Federal District, processing more than 15 million tons of 
crude annually -- about 5.6% of the country's total refining capacity, 
according to Ukrainian officials.

   Russia and Ukraine have traded almost daily assaults on each other's energy 
infrastructure as U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to stop the nearly four-year war 
make no impact on the battlefield.

   Ukraine's long-range drone strikes on Russian refineries aim to deprive 
Moscow of the oil export revenue it needs to pursue its full-scale invasion. 
Russia wants to cripple the Ukrainian power grid, seeking to deny civilians 
access to heat, light and running water in what Kyiv officials say is an 
attempt to "weaponize winter."

   Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said foreign countries are helping 
Kyiv in its efforts to keep the power grid operating amid Russia's onslaught.

   "Practically every day, our power engineers, repair brigades, and the State 
Emergency Service of Ukraine are carrying out restorations on-site after 
attacks: hits keep occurring across various points, especially in our 
communities, and especially near the Russian border and close to the front," 
Zelenskyy said late Wednesday.

   Ukraine, meanwhile, has attempted to strike targets on Russian soil with 
domestically developed long-range drones.

   Ukrainian forces also struck three fuel lubricants facilities in the 
Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula and a storage and assembly base for Russia's 
Shahed drones in an occupied area of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, the 
general staff statement said.

   In the Kostroma region northeast of Moscow, a Ukrainian aerial attack hit 
unidentified "energy infrastructure facilities," Gov. Sergei Sitnikov said. 
There were no casualties and power supplies were not disrupted, he said.

   Unconfirmed media reports said the attack targeted a hydroelectric power 
plant in the Kostroma region, one of the biggest in Russia.

   The Russian Defense Ministry said Thursday its air defenses shot down 75 
drones overnight over multiple Russian regions and annexed Crimea.

   Russia, meantime, attacked the city of Kamianske in Ukraine's eastern 
Dnipropetrovsk region with drones overnight, injuring eight people, the head of 
the regional military administration, Vladyslav Haivanenko, said on his 
official Telegram channel.

   Several fires broke out and the roof of a four-story building was partially 
destroyed, he said.

   The Russian military also continued its assault on Ukraine's rail 
infrastructure, causing delays and route changes in Ukraine's eastern regions 
of Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk and in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, 
Ukraine's state-owned railway company Ukrzaliznytsia said.

   Russia attacked Ukraine with 135 drones of various types overnight on 
Thursday, Ukraine's air force said.