Ukraine Hits Russia’s Perm Refinery With Long-Range Drones

Ukraine said it struck a major oil refinery in Perm, nearly 1,500 kilometers away, again on Thursday, following earlier attacks a week prior. Russian outlets confirmed the strike and reported that drones hit a building near a defense-linked facility, though the broader impact on Russia’s oil revenues remains unclear. Make us preferred on Google Share Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn Bluesky Email Copy Copied USF’s 1st unit carried out the attack on the Lukoil refinery with an unspecified number of drones. (Photo by Telegram channel/ASTRA) Content Share Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn Bluesky Email Copy Copied Flip Make us preferred on Google Ukraine struck Russian oil refineries in Perm, around 1,500 km (932 miles) away from the border, overnight on Thursday. Russian officials acknowledged attacks on industrial sites, while local media confirmed the oil refineries were hit. Ukrainian forces later claimed responsibility for the attack. Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official . Perm is located in the Ural Mountains, the range separating Europe and Asia within Russia. Its distance from Ukraine makes the strike one of Kyiv’s rarer long-range attacks deep inside Russian territory. Local officials said an “industrial facility” was hit, while two buildings were damaged. Analysts said the facility is likely an oil refinery, while the damaged building is located near a defense plant. Dmitry Makhonin, the Perm region’s governor, wrote at around 11 a.m. Kyiv time that Ukrainian drones had struck. “Today, an enemy drone struck an industrial facility in the Perm region. All emergency services are on scene. There were no casualties. Several other drones were shot down. Emergency services are working at the crash site,” Makhonin said on Telegram. He later said an apartment building and an administrative building were also damaged, with no casualties. Analysts from Astra , an independent Russian outlet, asserted that the Lukoil-Permnefteorgsintez LLC (PNOS) refinery was hit based on available footage. The outlet called the facility “one of Russia’s largest oil refineries” and “a key industrial facility in the region and one of the most technologically advanced in the country,” with Lukoil itself capable of processing “over 13 million tons of oil annually.” Other Topics of Interest Russia Spends Billions on Refineries, Loses Gains From Oil Surge Russia’s oil and gas revenues surged in April, but heavy subsidies and refinery repairs linked to Ukrainian strikes are offsetting gains, analysts say. In a subsequent update, Astra also said the damaged apartment building is located 600 meters (656 yards) from a defense plant that makes aircraft engine components. “The defense company JSC UEC-STAR, which produces engine components for MiG-31 fighter jets and Ka-52 and Mi-8 helicopters, is located 600 meters from the high-rise building in Perm that was struck by a drone, according to ASTRA analysis,” the update says. The latest attack followed recent strikes around a week prior, where the city’s oil facilities were hit twice in 24 hours . Robert “Magyar” Brovdi, the commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces (USF), confirmed the strike on Thursday afternoon. In a Facebook update , Brovdi said the USF’s 1st unit carried out the attack on the Lukoil refinery with an unspecified number of drones. “Lukoil’s oil tanker in Perm was inspected on the night of May 6-7 by the Freedom-loving Ukrainian Birds of the 1st SBS unit for the remains of tanks, taps, and other units for pumping oil and its processing,” Brovdi wrote. Defense outlet Militarnyi said Ukraine used the Antonov An-196 “Liutyi” (fiery) long-range drone in the attack, though the model has not been disclosed in official reports. The latest attacks on Perm’s Lukoil refinery form part of Kyiv’s recent campaign against Russian oil infrastructure. Ukraine’s defense ministry said it struck 14 refineries in Russia throughout April, including the Bashneft-Novoil refinery in Ufa (Republic of Bashkortostan), located about 1,400 km (870 miles) from the Ukrainian border, and the Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez refinery in Kstovo (Nizhny Novgorod Oblast), roughly 800 km (497 miles) from the border. Kyiv said the goal is to curb Russia’s oil revenue, as global fuel prices surge due to supply disruptions from the war in Iran. President Volodymyr Zelensky said the damage to Russian oil amounted to $7 billion thus far in 2026 The head of Ukraine’s Presidential Office previously hinted that the refinery strikes help consolidate Kyiv’s positions in peace talks with Moscow. But the jury is still out on whether the attacks successfully put a dent in Russia’s oil revenue amid skyrocketing prices. Russian officials have claimed that Moscow received 200 billion roubles (€2.27 billion) in extra oil revenues thanks to higher prices, while Ukraine’s sanctions envoy have previous claimed that the higher prices have been offset by reduced output . The latest analysis from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) asserts that Moscow’s spending to support its energy sector – nearly 350 billion rubles (about $4.7 billion) in subsidies to oil companies – has also offset the potential revenue boost . Kyiv Post is unable to independently assess the damage and output levels at various Russian oil facilities after the recent attacks. Leo Chiu is a journalist and editor based in Eastern Europe since 2015. He has witnessed two presidential elections in Belarus and traveled widely to conflict zones and contested regions, producing reporting that bridges the gap between major developments and local realities.