Ukraine conducted a wide series of attacks during the night between July 31 and August 1 against energy infrastructures, radar systems, and logistical connections located deep within Russian territory and occupied areas.
According to the Ukrainian Security Service, drones reportedly hit three refineries of the large oil hub in Ufa, the capital of the Russian Republic of Bashkortostan, nearly 1,600 kilometers from Ukraine.
The targeted facilities are said to be the Bashneft-Ufimsky, Bashneft-Novoil, and Bashneft-Ufaneftekhim plants, belonging to the Bashneft group and controlled by the Russian state energy giant Rosneft.
One of Russia's largest refining hubs
The three refineries form one of the main oil complexes of the Russian Federation, with a total processing capacity exceeding 23 million tons of crude oil per year.
The plants produce gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel, lubricants, liquefied gas, and other petroleum products. According to the Ukrainian security service, part of the production is also destined to support the Russian Armed Forces.
Geolocated footage released by the independent Russian media ASTRA showed two columns of black smoke rising from the Bashneft-Ufaneftekhim refinery. Residents of the area reported hearing explosions and observing drones over the city.
The governor of Bashkortostan, Radiy Khabirov, confirmed the attack, however claiming that the unmanned aircraft were intercepted and that some debris fell in an industrial area, causing smoke. No casualties were reported.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the operation, framing it within the strategy of so-called “long-range sanctions,” with which Kyiv aims to reduce Russian energy revenues and the availability of fuel for the war effort.
Grateful to Ukrainian warriors who are bringing the war back to Russia and responding to its attacks against life. Our targets are consistently defined facilities that sustain the war effort.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 1, 2026
Middle strikes were carried out overnight, with successful hits in the Black Sea and… pic.twitter.com/B4q8HMVl0j
Four radars hit in Krasnodar territory
Simultaneously, Ukrainian Security Service drones reportedly attacked four radar devices installed in the Russian territory of Krasnodar.
The targets were said to be three Podlet-K1 systems and a Kasta-2E2 radar, both intended for detecting and tracking aerial targets, including those flying at low altitudes.
The neutralization or damage of these devices could help open corridors for subsequent incursions by Ukrainian drones and missiles, temporarily reducing Russia's ability to detect approaching aircraft.
The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that it had shot down a total of 274 drones over various Russian regions, occupied Crimea, the Black Sea, and the Sea of Azov. The figure has not been independently verified.
Crimea's railway connections attacked
On the same night, the Ukrainian General Staff announced attacks against several Russian military targets in occupied Crimea and southern Ukrainian regions.
The targets included the railway bridge over the Syvash, near Chonhar, and a second railway bridge near Vladyslavivka.
The two infrastructures are used by Russian forces to transfer troops, armaments, ammunition, and military vehicles between Crimea and the occupied territories in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.
Also reported as hit were:
- a storage and maintenance depot for unmanned naval vehicles near Chornomorske;
- an electronic intelligence unit of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol;
- a base for repairing military vehicles near Pervomaiske;
- a logistics depot near Podove, in the occupied Kherson region;
- a drone storage site near Tokmak, in the Zaporizhzhia region.
An attack on the entire Russian logistical system
The operation appears designed to hit various elements of the same military system: fuel production and availability, radar surveillance capacity, electronic warfare, vehicle maintenance, and railway transport.
The Ufa refineries represent strategic depth, while the Krasnodar radars and Crimea bridges directly support Russian operations in the southern sector.
Kyiv thus seems to want to combine attacks against the Russian energy industry with targeted actions against the communication lines connecting the Russian Federation to the units engaged on the front.
The distance reached by the drones also demonstrates the progressive development of Ukraine's long-range attack capabilities, now able to threaten strategic infrastructures located thousands of kilometers from the combat zones.
The actual extent of the damage caused to the refineries, radars, and railway connections remains to be determined. The available information mainly comes from Ukrainian authorities, while Moscow has admitted the attack on Ufa, but downplayed its consequences.
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