KYIV, Ukraine - Ukraine has carried out one of its most ambitious long-range drone operations of the war, striking Russia's largest oil refinery in Omsk, deep inside Siberia, in what Russian authorities described as the longest-range Ukrainian attack since the conflict began.
According to Ukraine's General Staff, the drone strike ignited a fire at the Omsk oil refinery, located approximately 2,700 kilometres (1,700 miles) from Ukrainian-controlled territory and near Russia's border with Kazakhstan.
Reuters confirmed the attack, which marks a significant expansion of Ukraine's ability to target strategic infrastructure far from the battlefield.
Vitaly Khotsenko, governor of Russia's Omsk region, confirmed that the refinery had come under attack, adding that Russian air defence systems intercepted most of the drones involved.
Khotsenko said there were no reported casualties and that emergency responders had been deployed to the site. The full extent of the damage to the refinery was not immediately known.
In his nightly address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the operation as a major success for Ukraine's armed forces.
"An important achievement for the Armed Forces of Ukraine... Siberia, too, is now within reach of Ukrainian precision strikes," Zelenskyy said.
Ukrainian defence technology company Fire Point said its upgraded FP-1 drones carried out the operation, describing it as a record-breaking mission for strike drones.
Chief Executive Officer Iryna Terekh said the Omsk refinery had previously remained beyond the reach of Ukrainian drones and was one of only two refineries among Russia's ten largest that had never been struck.
The latest operation underscores Ukraine's growing long-range strike capability as the war, which escalated with Russia's full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, continues into its fifth year.
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