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Ukraine strikes Ryazan oil refinery
The refinery strike
Zelenskyy's reason was that Russia had never stopped attacking Ukraine's electrical and heating infrastructure. Russian authorities reported the strike, and the extent of the damage is not known. Putin played down the attack and called it part of a pattern of surprise Ukrainian strikes on energy sites, commercial warehouses, and other targets, adding that Russia would avenge them twice over.
In recent days, Ukrainian drones have also repeatedly struck data centers belonging to Russia's premier tech companies, the equivalent of Google.
The diesel deal
The ceasefire proposal followed an agreement between Trump and Putin to buy Russian diesel fuel despite sanctions, made as Trump tries to bring down gas prices before the US midterm elections. Zelenskyy has openly criticized the deal for giving Russia additional billions for its war. The Kremlin confirmed it has started releasing the fuel to global markets.
In a Newsmax interview, Trump said Ukraine and Russia will end up with a settlement of some kind but not with Zelenskyy, who he said does not want one. He also called dealing with Putin a lot easier than dealing with Zelenskyy. Ukraine's air force told NPR it has run out of US-made Patriot missiles, its only means of stopping Russian ballistic missiles.
Why do drones go after oil refineries?
A refinery is a dense cluster of towers, furnaces, and pipework, and its distillation units rely on specialized equipment that can take months to replace. One successful hit can halt gasoline and diesel production for a whole region.
Drones suit the job because they are cheap, fly low, and can carry a warhead hundreds of kilometers. Oil and gas sales have long been a major source of Russia's federal revenue, according to its own finance ministry reports.
Why are ballistic missiles so hard to stop?
A ballistic missile climbs high, then falls toward its target at several times the speed of sound, which leaves defenders a very short window. The Patriot system pairs a radar that tracks the incoming warhead with interceptors that steer into it and destroy it by collision.
Cruise missiles and drones fly lower and slower, so cheaper systems such as guns and short-range missiles can counter them. The Patriot was first used in combat in 1991, against Iraqi Scud missiles in the Gulf War.
How can a drone reach Ryazan from Ukraine?
Ryazan lies hundreds of kilometers inside Russia, so the drones that reach it are built for range. They use small engines, fly low enough to slip under much of the radar coverage, and navigate by satellite positioning and inertial sensors.
Some follow preprogrammed routes, so jamming the satellite signal does not always bring them down. Ukraine has produced many of its long-range drones domestically, a program that expanded after Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.
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