A massive mushroom cloud lit up the Russian skyline after a Ukrainian drone blitz rocked a key oil refinery in the early hours of Saturday — in a fiery strike that’s left Putin reeling.

 

The Novokuybyshevsk oil plant in Samara — a major supplier of aviation fuel for Russian warplanes — was engulfed in a colossal fireball after a direct hit, with flames shooting 590ft into the air, according to Ukrainian sources.

Boasting on Telegram, Ukraine’s Exilenova+ channel claimed the inferno was "the size of 109 Putins" — cheekily measuring the Russian leader at 5ft 5in.

 

It’s part of a dramatic wave of overnight Ukrainian attacks targeting Russia’s war machine — from oil depots and radar stations to airfields and defence plants — just days after ex-U.S. President Donald Trump moved nuclear submarines closer to Russian waters, following fresh war threats from Kremlin hardliner Dmitry Medvedev.

The coordinated assault saw:

• Ryazan oil refinery — vital for Moscow’s fuel supply — erupt in flames.

• Primorsko-Akhtarsk airfield, in the Krasnodar region, blaze near facilities used for drone attacks on Ukraine.

• A major radar station near Feodosia in occupied Crimea struck, including military unit 66571 — home to radio stations housed in enormous dome structures, one the size of a nine-storey block.

• Tepe-Oba mountain range, also in Crimea, left burning after strikes.

• The Electropribor plant in Penza hit by Ukrainian drones, with reports of eight explosions before the facility — which produces encrypted comms gear for Putin’s army — went up in flames. One woman was confirmed dead.

• A radar factory in Penza also took damage — its second strike in just three days.

• Rostov region also came under fire, with at least one fatality reported.

 

The onslaught comes amid a deepening war of words between Medvedev and Trump, raising fears of escalation. Medvedev — a close Putin ally and former Russian president — recently warned that conflict with the U.S. could become “inevitable.”

With Ukraine showing it can strike deep inside Russia and target the backbone of its military infrastructure, Saturday’s attacks mark one of the most aggressive and symbolic blows yet.

 

And with multiple fires still raging, questions are growing over the Kremlin’s ability to defend its own soil — as the war enters a dangerous new phase.

 

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from The Express 2025-08-02

 

 

 

Russia needs to strike back harder.

Not leveling some apartement block in Kyiv but infrastructure and energy.

6 minutes ago, FlorC said:

Russia needs to strike back harder.

Not leveling some apartement block in Kyiv but infrastructure and energy.

Russia needs to be defeated.

6 minutes ago, FlorC said:

Russia needs to strike back harder.

Not leveling some apartement block in Kyiv but infrastructure and energy.

Because Ukraine so cowardly attacked pinnacle of peace, the humble and innocent Russian Federation... Right, my vodka man?

24 minutes ago, tomazbodner said:

Because Ukraine so cowardly attacked pinnacle of peace, the humble and innocent Russian Federation... Right, my vodka man?

I've never drunk vodka.