Ukraine has announced that it struck one of Russia’s largest oil refineries and a major oil pumping station in fresh long-range drone attacks, as Moscow simultaneously launched sweeping nuclear force exercises involving tens of thousands of troops and strategic missile units.
According to Ukraine’s General Staff, Ukrainian forces targeted the Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez refinery in Kstovo, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, on May 18, with fires reportedly breaking out at the facility afterward.
Kyiv described the refinery as one of Russia’s largest oil-processing plants with an annual capacity of around 17 million tons.
Ukraine targets Russian infrastructure
The military also said Ukrainian forces hit the Yaroslavl-3 oil pumping station near Semibratovo in Yaroslavl Oblast on May 19, adding that damage assessments were still ongoing.
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Ukraine said the refinery produces gasoline, diesel, and aviation fuel used to support Russian military operations in occupied Ukrainian territory.
Russian officials separately confirmed drone activity in Yaroslavl Oblast, where Governor Mikhail Yevrayev said authorities imposed traffic restrictions on a highway leading toward Moscow following the attacks.
Explosions were also reported in the region by local Russian media. The strikes came as Russia intensified attacks across northern Ukraine.
Authorities in Chernihiv Oblast said a Russian ballistic missile strike on the city of Pryluky killed at least three people, including a 15-year-old boy who later died in hospital.
Nearly 30 others were injured after the missile struck near commercial infrastructure in the city center.
In neighboring Sumy Oblast, Ukrainian officials said Russian drone strikes on the Hlukhiv community killed two men and injured four more people after civilian infrastructure and apartment buildings were damaged.
The latest attacks came as Russia announced major nuclear readiness drills running from May 19 to May 21.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said the exercises involve the Strategic Missile Forces, long-range aviation units, the Northern and Pacific fleets, missile submarines, and military formations from several districts.
Moscow said more than 64,000 personnel and over 7,800 pieces of equipment are participating, including missile launchers, aircraft, ships, and submarines.
The exercises include simulated launches of ballistic and cruise missiles and aim to test combat readiness and strategic deterrence capabilities.
The announcement came just one day after Belarus began joint nuclear exercises with Russian forces.
Reported training in China
Meanwhile, Reuters reported that around 200 Russian military personnel secretly trained at Chinese military facilities in late 2025 before some were later deployed to fight in occupied Crimea and Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
According to the report, the training included drone warfare, electronic warfare, armored infantry tactics, explosives handling, and counter-drone operations.
European intelligence agencies cited by Reuters reportedly concluded that the cooperation suggests a deeper level of Chinese involvement in Russia’s war effort than previously known.
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The developments also come as independent Russian outlet Novaya Gazeta Europe reported that Russian military hospitals are becoming overwhelmed by the scale of battlefield casualties from the war.
The outlet said authorities have increasingly converted civilian hospitals and maternity wards into military treatment facilities due to mounting numbers of wounded soldiers.
A former nurse in St. Petersburg reportedly said the number of injured troops had exceeded the capacity of traditional military hospitals.
A January 2026 assessment by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) estimated Russia had suffered nearly 1.2 million battlefield casualties — including killed, wounded, and missing troops — since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022.
