Ukraine strike hits Syzran refinery as Russia reports one death

Kyiv,UPDATED: Jul 12, 2026 14:34 IST

A Ukrainian attack in southwest Russia killed one person and injured three others on Sunday, local officials said, as Kyiv continued its strikes on Russia's oil facilities. Russian media reports said the target of the attack was the Syzran Oil Refinery in the Samara region.

In a separate incident, a tanker was damaged in a drone attack in the Azov-Black Sea maritime canal, according to the governor of Russia's Rostov region, who said the vessel was empty and there was no risk of an oil spill. The latest attacks came as Ukraine's strikes on Russian energy infrastructure continued to disrupt fuel supplies, while Moscow stepped up its bombardment of Ukrainian cities and claimed fresh attacks on ports in the Odesa region.

Samara Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev said one of the injured in the attack was a child. He said residential houses and apartment buildings were damaged, along with an unspecified "industrial site". Russian media outlets carried images that appeared to show plumes of black smoke rising over the Syzran Oil Refinery.

The refinery, owned by oil and gas major Rosneft, is about 800 km east of the border and has been repeatedly targeted by Ukrainian forces. In the Rostov region, Governor Yuri Slyusar said the tanker hit in the drone strike had no cargo on board and there was no threat of an oil spill.

Ukraine's drone attacks on oil refineries and other infrastructure across Russia have led to a wider fuel crisis, with petrol shortages and rationing reported in several regions and motorists waiting for hours to fill their tanks. Moscow has responded by intensifying strikes on Kyiv and other cities, highlighting Ukraine's vulnerability to ballistic missile attacks.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has described the attacks on Russia's energy infrastructure as part of Kyiv's campaign of "long-range sanctions", carried out in response to Moscow's refusal to halt its four-year invasion of its neighbour. Meanwhile, Russia's Ministry of Defence said on Sunday that it had attacked the ports of Odesa and Chornomorsk in Ukraine's Odesa region, though Ukrainian officials had not commented on the claim at the time. Overall, the day saw fresh strikes by both sides, with casualties, damage to infrastructure and new claims of attacks in Russia and Ukraine.

With PTI Inputs

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