Another Russian oil facility burns as Zelenskyy touts Ukraine’s drone reach

Another oil facility deep inside Russia was reportedly on fire Wednesday after what Ukraine's president claimed was his country's latest long-range drone attack.

Ukraine's Security Service, known as the SBU, said it struck an oil pumping station near the city of Perm as part of efforts to target Russia's energy infrastructure. The area is more than 1,500 kilometers (900 miles) from Ukraine.

Russian media reported the attack, though Perm Gov. Dmitry Makhonin said only that a drone hit an unspecified industrial facility, sparking a fire.

Russian officials have not been forthcoming about Ukrainian claims that Kyiv is carrying out more long-range attacks and that its domestically developed drones are increasingly accurate.

Speaking about Ukraine during a call with U.S. President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Kyiv was inciting other European leaders and "prolonging the conflict," presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said.

Advanced drone technology has become a defining feature of the war as Russia's bigger army presses its more than four-year invasion of its neighbor.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted a video on Telegram showing a large plume of black smoke rising in countryside near a built-up area. Without specifying it was the Perm attack or what was hit, Zelenskyy said Ukraine was expanding the range of its long-distance strikes.

He called them a new phase in efforts to limit Russia's ability to wage war by denying it crucial oil revenue.

It was not possible to independently verify the video.

The SBU claimed that most oil storage tanks were ablaze at the facility, which it said is owned by Russia's pipeline operator Transneft and a key hub in the oil transportation system. The claims could not be independently verified.

The attack came a day after Ukraine struck the Tuapse oil refinery and terminal on the Black Sea for the third time in less than two weeks, prompting what Putin said could be "serious environmental consequences." Local authorities said the fire had been "contained" by Wednesday.

Ukraine has escalated its long-distance strikes against Russian oil facilities in an effort to stop Moscow from gaining a financial windfall from a U.S. waiver on sanctions amid global supply restrictions caused by the Iran war, according to the Institute for the Study of War.

Kyiv is exploiting the vulnerabilities of Russia's large land mass, the Washington-based think tank said.

"Ukrainian forces will likely continue to exploit the large attack surface of Russia's deep rear and overstretched Russian air defenses to launch more frequent and larger strikes against Russian oil infrastructure and military assets, supported by increased Ukrainian domestic drone production," the institute said late Tuesday.

The Russian Defense Ministry said Wednesday its air defenses overnight intercepted 98 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions and Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014.

After years of relying heavily on foreign military support, Ukraine is poised to export its sought-after drone know-how. Zelenskyy said Ukraine is producing a surplus of up to 50% in some types of weapons.

Military cooperation "is already underway" with countries in the Middle East, the Gulf, Europe and the Caucasus, he said on Telegram late Tuesday.

The deals involve the production and supply of drones and missiles as well as software and technology, according to Zelenskyy.

Kyiv has also handed a proposal to the United States for cooperation on drones, defense systems and other types of weapons for use in the air, on land and at sea, he said.

Russia hasn't eased up on its own long-range attacks on Ukraine's civilian areas, damaging homes and infrastructure, regional authorities said.

Eight people were injured in an overnight attack on the northeastern Kharkiv region, the regional prosecutor's office said.

In the northeastern Sumy region, officials said a 60-year-old woman died of carbon monoxide poisoning as a result of an attack.

In the southern Odesa region, Russian forces struck Izmail, damaging infrastructure facilities, according to the local administration. A district hospital building was damaged.

Ukraine's air force said it shot down 154 of the 171 drones launched by Russia overnight.