Ukraine war latest: Russia's Kirishi oil refinery stops production after drone strikes

Prefer on Google by The Kyiv Independent news desk For illustrative purposes: Vapor rises from an oil refinery in Ufa, Russia on Sept. 27, 2016. (Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg via Getty Images) Key developments on May 4: Ukrainian Flamingo missiles struck a Russian military production facility in Cheboksary overnight on May 5, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, as part of a large-scale missile and drone attack that also reportedly targeted one of Russia's largest oil refineries. Photos and videos posted to social media by local residents purport to show a large fire emanating from JSC VNIIR-Progress in Cheboksary, Chuvash Republic, a Russian state institute that produces components for high-precision weapons used by Moscow to attack Ukraine. Zelensky later published video showing launches of Ukraine's "Flamingo" cruise missiles, which he credited with the strike on the Russian factory. "Ukrainian 'Flamingos' covered a distance of more than 1,500 kilometers. The struck military production facility manufactured relay protection systems, automation equipment, and low-voltage apparatus," Zelensky wrote. "Russia must end its war and move to real diplomacy. We have made our proposal." Russian state-sponsored media later wrote that the attack killed two and injured 32. Later into the morning, Ukraine's military also reportedly carried out an attack on the Kirishi oil refinery, also known as KINEF, one of Russia's top refineries by volume. Leningrad Oblast Governor Alexander Drozdenko first reported a strike to have occurred in an unspecified industrial zone in Kirishi, later confirming that the oil refinery served as the main target. NASA's fire monitoring system, FIRMS , appeared to corroborate Drozdenko claims, with multiple fires reported in the area of the refinery. At least one photo posted to social media later purported to show smoke rising from the facility. The Kirishi oil refinery halted processing on May 5 after the Ukrainian drone strikes damaged three of its four crude distillation units, two industry sources told Reuters . The sources said several auxiliary units were also hit, adding that the full scope of the damage made it difficult to assess how long repairs would take. The Kirishi refinery is one of Russia's three largest oil refineries, with an annual processing capacity of around 20–21 million tons of crude oil. The facility produces more than 6% of Russia's total refined oil, including a wide range of petroleum products such as fuel that supports the country's armed forces. The European Commission announced the launch of the EU-Ukraine Drone Alliance on May 5 to strengthen unmanned aerial and counter-drone capabilities by drawing on Ukraine's frontline experience. Efforts to establish its inaugural board are underway, according to a statement. Russia's war against Ukraine has reshaped perceptions of modern warfare, particularly the use of drones in battlefield operations and long-range strikes , while raising broader security concerns across Europe. "Recent repeated violations of the airspace of EU member states have shown the urgency of creating a flexible, agile and state of the art European capacity to counter unmanned aerial vehicles," the European Commission said. The EU-Ukraine drone defense initiative is framed as a comprehensive response to evolving threats, intended to deliver coordinated protection across all EU member states, the statement said. The project is designed to bring together participants from EU member states, the European Economic Area (EEA), the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), and Ukraine. The initiative seeks to strengthen support for national efforts by deepening engagement with industry and accelerating the uptake of innovative technologies, the European Commission said. Russian first-person view (FPV) drones are reaching deeper into Ukraine's Donbas fortress belt of highly fortified cities. Photos published on X on May 5 by Iryna Rybakova , a press officer for the 93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian military, show the aftermath of a drone strike on a car in a residential area of Kramatorsk , the temporary capital of Ukrainian-held Donetsk Oblast. Rybakova specifically identified the strike as the work of a first-person view FPVs connected by a fiber-optic cable, a dangerous weapon that has not been a major threat in Kramatorsk until now. Fiber-optic drones are famously resistant to many of the vulnerabilities of drones that operate by radio frequency, including jamming, spoofing, or loss of connection beyond the line of sight. In urban environments, buildings typically break up that connectivity, but fiber-optic FPVs in a densely populated civilian area can wreak havoc, with Russia's attacks on civilians in Kherson being one of the clearest examples within Ukraine today. Russia gets most of its fiber-optic spools direct from China, while Ukrainian drone makers rely on a series of intermediaries that result in less reliable and shorter-range optical fiber. EU ministers voted through on May 5 for the bloc to formally join a Council of Europe court that will prosecute Russia's leaders for its illegal war against Ukraine, three EU officials confirmed to the Kyiv Independent. The Special Tribunal being set up will prosecute Russia for the same crime of aggression that Nazi German leaders were found guilty of in the Nuremberg trials at the end of World War II. The Special Tribunal plays an important role because no other court has a legal mandate to prosecute the international crime of starting a war of aggression. Legal scholar Philippe Sands already advocated in 2022 for a special tribunal to hold Russia accountable for the same crime, which was agreed on in principle by the Council of Europe in May 2025. Following that, efforts to operationalize the special tribunal commenced. The Netherlands expressed its interest in hosting the court, and the EU provided funding to support evidence-gathering and other preparatory work ahead of the tribunal's full establishment. Once up and running, key Russian leadership figures, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, will face charges. It is also possible that the court's remit could go beyond Russia and include other countries that have joined Moscow's war against Ukraine, such as Belarus and North Korea.