Ukrainian forces successfully attacked the Moscow Oil Refinery and a Druzhba oil pipeline facility in Oryol Oblast overnight on March 11, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported.
The statement comes after Russia claimed to have downed over 330 Ukrainian drones in the Moscow, Oryol, and eight other oblasts in a massive drone strike.
The attack was carried out by Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces in cooperation with the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and military intelligence (HUR), the General Staff said.
The operation "struck a number of Russian strategic objects, enabling armed aggression against Ukraine," the military said. Ukraine has repeatedly targeted industrial and military facilities in Russia's rear to undermine Moscow's ability to wage its war.
Multiple hits were recorded at the Moscow Oil Refinery, which is capable of processing 11 million metric tons of oil per year and covers 40-50% of Moscow's gasoline and diesel supplies, according to the statement.
Volodymyr Ivanyshyn
Explosions were also reported at the Stalnoy Kon fuel facility in Oryol Oblast. This facility is a key part of the Druzhba oil pipeline infrastructure and ensures oil supplies to the Ust-Luga port in Leningrad Oblast.
The facility lies around 170 kilometers (100 miles) from the Russia-Ukraine border.
Russia's Defense Ministry claimed its forces had intercepted a massive strike of 337 Ukrainian drones across multiple regions, including 91 over Moscow Oblast, 126 over Kursk Oblast, 38 over Bryansk Oblast, eight over Oryol Oblast, and others over the Belgorod, Ryazan, Kaluga, Lipetsk, Voronezh, and Nizhny Novgorod regions.
This would mark Ukraine's most extensive drone strike against Moscow and Russia throughout the full-scale war.
Russian officials did not report hits against any strategic targets but claimed that civilian sites were damaged across Moscow Oblast. Three people were allegedly killed by drone debris, while 18 were wounded, Moscow claims.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims.
The Ukrainian military said it has "detailed information about the strategic facilities" enabling Russian aggression and "adheres to the norms of international humanitarian law and takes measures to protect the civilian population as much as possible."
