Ryazan refinery struck as Ukraine deepens US defence ties
Ukrainian drones attacked one of Russia's largest refineries just hours after Volodymyr Zelenskyy secured high-level US defence talks, signalling Kyiv's intent to weaponise its economic leverage while reshaping transatlantic arms manufacturing.
Ukrainian forces attacked the Ryazan oil refinery overnight, targeting a facility with a capacity of 17 million tons per year that produces gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel. The strike, which started a fire and sent six people to hospital according to regional governor Pavel Malkov, came just hours after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Donald Trump in Washington.
The attack is part of a sustained Ukrainian campaign using domestically developed long-range drones to cripple Russian energy infrastructure. By battering refineries deep inside Russia, Kyiv is engineering a domestic fuel crisis that imposes a continuous economic cost on Moscow.
“Russia must feel that every day of this war will only come at a higher cost for it. We need to weaken the aggressor and keep up the pressure to bring an end to this war closer,” Zelenskyy said. These battlefield successes have helped restore US goodwill after early reluctance from the Trump administration to continue backing Kyiv.
Beyond immediate military pressure, Zelenskyy is leveraging Ukraine's rapid weapons innovation to restructure its defence industrial base. In Washington, he met with Lockheed Martin, days after hosting Raytheon in Kyiv, to negotiate joint production and technology exchanges.
Ukraine is offering battle-tested drone technology in return for the capability to manufacture sophisticated systems like Patriot air defences domestically, under licences Trump recently agreed to grant. “From reconnaissance and logistics to precision strikes, Ukraine has shown the world how unmanned systems can give smaller forces a decisive edge,” said Matthew Whitaker, the US Ambassador to NATO.
Diplomatic efforts to end the war remain stalled despite a yearlong push by the Trump administration, though envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are expected to visit Kyiv. Meanwhile, Ukraine's new military commander, Mykhailo Drapatyi, held his first call with General Alexus G Grynkewich, the Supreme Allied Commander Europe.
“I outlined my vision of Ukraine’s victory and the capabilities required to achieve it,” Drapatyi said. He added that Kyiv must “expand both long-range and medium-range precision strikes against the enemy.” The Ryazan strike was part of a broader barrage that also hit a Russian naval base, while Russia claimed its defences shot down 295 Ukrainian drones overnight. Russian glide bombs simultaneously killed one person in Kherson and wounded 11 in the Kharkiv region.
