A major oil refinery was filmed going up in a fireball as Ukraine launched one of its biggest drone bombardments so far against Russia where a power station was also hit
Russia: Ryazan oil refinery ablaze after drone strikes
Vladimir Putin raced to the Kremlin as Russia came under attack from drones in one of the biggest bombardments so far.
Russians fled in panic as a Ukrainian drone destroyed a major oil refinery while the dictator’s top security official warned of war between major nuclear powers. A giant explosion and fireball inferno hit the giant Ryazan Oil Refinery, 112 miles southeast of Moscow. Footage showed the dramatic scenes in Ryazan where a power station was also hit and set ablaze by military drones.
Separately, a plant making microchips for Putin’s deadly Iskander ballistic missiles went up in flames in Bryansk region after another strike. Some ten Russian regions plus occupied Crimea were hit by Russia as US president Donald Trump seeks to speak to Putin to agree talks about a ceasefire in a war that has now lasted one month short of three years.
“I think Russia should want to make a deal,” Trump told reporters. “Maybe they want to make a deal. From what I hear, Putin would like to meet with me. We will meet as soon as we can. I would meet immediately. Every day that we don’t meet, soldiers are dying on the battlefield.”
Regarding Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump said: “He’s lost a lot of soldiers, and so has Russia….but Russia has lost more.” Putin’s motorcade was seen rushing to the Kremlin at 23.29 on Thursday night, ahead of the fierce bombardment of western Russia by Ukrainian drones.
The reason for his late night visit to his office was not clear as Trump piles on pressure for him to end his “ridiculous” war or face sanctions, tariffs, and plummeting oil prices, all of which could cripple the Russian economy. While Putin has an apartment in the Kremlin fortress, his main residence is a palatial mansion outside the Russian capital.
Meanwhile the head of his security council Sergei Shoigu – formerly his war-mongering defence minister – warned of war between nuclear powers. “Against the backdrop of increasing conflict and intensifying geopolitical rivalry in the world, the risks of a violent clash between major states, including with the participation of nuclear powers, are increasing,” Shoigu told official Russian news agency TASS.
Airports in Russian cities Kazan, Nizhnekamsk, Penza, Samara, Saratov and Ufa were forced to suspend flights due to drone strikes. The Russian defence ministry reported shooting down 123 drones including 37 over Bryansk region, 20 over Ryazan region, and 17 over the Kursk and Saratov regions.
Baza media outlet said Ukraine had “staged the most massive attack on Russian regions since the beginning of 2025”. Drones were aimed at Russian capital Moscow – but reportedly shot down. Ryazan oil refinery is one of the largest in Russia and critical for fuel supplies to Moscow. The refinery holds a capacity is 18 million tonnes a year, and it is owned by state company Rosneft, headed by close Putin crony Igor Sechin. There were complaints of a shortage of emergency workers to deal with the raging blaze.
Putin’s leading TV propagandist, Vladimir Solovyov, echoed Shoigu’s warning about nuclear war, and calling for Europe to be “wiped off the face of the earth”. It was his second threat to use nuclear weapons in two days, with an earlier blast about hitting London.
“The Europeans are screaming, no, we need a war, we must win,” he told his viewer on state TV. “No, no way…. Well, of course, they should be wiped off the face of the earth. They set the task of destroying Russia and do not hide it….
“All European reasoning, all American reasoning is based on the basic model – Russia will not use nuclear weapons. All their calculations are based on this. So I am sure we will see the use of nuclear weapons. Their rhetoric, by and large, makes this an almost inevitable scenario.”