Ukraine Strikes Oil Depot in Russia's Oryol Region, Kyiv Says

Ukraine's military intelligence said on Monday that it struck an oil depot in Russia's Oryol region overnight, part of a broader effort to disrupt fuel supplies to Russian military units. The facility lies roughly 165 km (100 miles) from the Ukrainian border, and Kyiv said the site was used to resupply forces fighting in Ukraine. Local reports described explosions in the area; Russia's Emergencies Ministry confirmed a fire at an oil depot but did not say what caused it. The reported strike is the latest in an increasing number of operations Kyiv has carried out inside Russian territory since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Ukraine has said attacks on energy facilities, airfields and weapons depots are legitimate military measures intended to degrade Russia's ability to sustain offensive operations and resupply frontline units. Moscow has condemned such strikes as terrorism and has repeatedly vowed to respond. Strategically, fuel depots and refineries are high-value targets because they are central to the mobility of ground forces, the sustainment of air operations and the wider logistics that underpin prolonged conflict. Analysts say targeting logistics can impose disproportionate costs on an adversary by slowing troop movements, grounding fuel-dependent platforms and complicating supply chains — but such strikes also carry risks of escalation, civilian damage and broader disruption to local economies and energy markets. The strikes inside Russia have added a contentious new dimension to a war that has already caused thousands of civilian deaths, displaced millions and contributed to global food and energy shocks. Western governments have broadly framed support for Ukraine around its right to self-defence while urging care to avoid further escalation. As Kyiv continues to target infrastructure it says directly supports the Russian war effort, international attention is likely to focus on both the military effects and the diplomatic fallout of cross-border operations.