[kellyhound]

Ukraine’s military has said it struck an oil refinery in Russia’s Saratov region in an overnight drone attack, causing explosions and destruction, according to an army statement, as daily aerial exchanges intensify with diplomatic momentum to end the war in play.

Saratov’s governor said on Sunday that one person was killed and several residential apartments and an industrial facility were damaged, but did not mention the oil refinery being struck.

Ukrainian drones are targeting deeper into Russian territory than in the past, where previous attacks have been focused on the line of contact in the south and the western parts of russia.

Ukraine’s military also said on Sunday that it had taken back a village in the Sumy region from the russian army, which has made significant recent gains there.

Ukrainian troops have “liberated and completely cleared” russian forces from Bezsalivka, the military general staff said in a Telegram post. It said 18 russian troops had been “eliminated” in the fighting.

[kellyhound]

Ukrainian An-196 Lyutiy strike drones attack Tatarstan region.

In this region that one of the largest factories for the production of Shahed drones is located

Ukrainian special forces have attacked a “logistics hub” storing Shahed drones deep behind enemy lines on Saturday.

The SBU Special Operations Center “A” attacked the warehouse in the Republic of Tartastan which is around 1,300 kilometres from Ukraine using a long-range drone.

The warehouse also had foreign produced components which are used to build the drones in the settlement of Kzyl-Yul.

In a statement, Ukraine‘s Security Service wrote: “This morning, long-range drones of the SBU Special Operations Center “A” hit a logistics hub where ready-to-use Shaheds are stored, as well as foreign components for them. This warehouse is located in the settlement of Kzyl-Yul, Republic of Tatarstan.

[kellyhound]

The Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery in the Rostov region has been burning for the fourth day following an attack by Ukrainian drones on August 21.

Local residents are complaining about the inability to breathe due to the smoke, while factory workers are being kept at their workplaces despite the emergency situation.

In some areas, water is temporarily shut off to extinguish the fire.

[kellyhound]

Ukraine unveiled the FP-5 “Flamingo,” a domestically made long-range cruise missile.

As Russia continues to unleash a major wave of airstrikes across Ukraine, Kyiv revealed a domestically made long-range cruise missile that could prove a game-changer in the war.

The FP-5 “Flamingo” missile is capable of travelling 3,000km and delivering a payload of 1,150kg, according to its maker, the Ukrainian defence start-up Fire Point.

The firm said it is producing roughly one Flamingo per day, and hoped to build capacity to make seven per day by October. That would equate to more than 200 missiles each month, or some 2,500 a year.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last week that the Flamingo had undergone successful testing and should go into mass production by February at the latest.

"The missile has undergone successful tests. It is currently our most successful missile," he told reporters.

"By December, we’ll have more of them,” Zelenskyy told reporters. “And by the end of December or in January–February, mass production should begin.”

The Flamingo’s explosive capabilities greatly outweigh the long-range drones and mini-cruise missiles Ukraine currently employs, according to Fabian Hoffmann, a doctoral research fellow and missile expert at the University of Oslo in Norway.

The missile’s high terminal velocity, in combination with its heavy weight, means that the warhead penetrates deeper into the target before exploding, which significantly increases the destructive power, he wrote last week in his Substack entitled Missile Matters.

Second, the Flamingo’s large payload capacity produces a much wider lethal radius than existing Ukrainian missiles and drones, according to Hoffmann.

“Even achieving a steady monthly output of 30-50 missiles would give Ukraine a substantial supply of heavy cruise missiles that would likely have tangible effects on the war,” he wrote.

The unveiling of the Flamingo comes amid reports that the Pentagon has blocked Kyiv from using US-supplied long-range missiles to hit targets inside Russia, as US President Donald Trump tries to get his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to join peace talks.

Washington has stopped Ukraine from deploying the Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) against targets in Russia for several months, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.

Speaking at a press conference the following day, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine could hit targets deep inside Russia without the need for coordination with Washington.

“As of today, we are using our domestically produced long-range weapons. And to be honest, we haven't been discussing such matters with the US lately," he said.

[Guns N' Coffee]

Originally Posted by kellyhound ↗

The unveiling of the Flamingo comes amid reports that the Pentagon has blocked Kyiv from using US-supplied long-range missiles to hit targets inside Russia, as US President Donald Trump tries to get his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to join peace talks.

Washington has stopped Ukraine from deploying the Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) against targets in Russia for several months, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.

Speaking at a press conference the following day, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine could hit targets deep inside Russia without the need for coordination with Washington.

“As of today, we are using our domestically produced long-range weapons. And to be honest, we haven't been discussing such matters with the US lately," he said.

The "ban" which was instituted in the "late spring," covers both U.S. made weaponry like the ATACMS and weapons donated by Kyiv's European backers such as the Storm Shadow/SCALP-EG cruise missiles.

[kellyhound]

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced that a suspect has been arrested in the murder of former parliamentary speaker Andriy Parubiy, who was killed in an attack over the weekend.

In a post on Telegram early on Monday, Zelenskyy wrote that the suspect had given an “initial testimony” and “urgent investigative actions are currently underway to establish all the circumstances of this murder”.

“I thank law enforcement for their swift and coordinated work. All the circumstances of this horrific murder must be uncovered,” he said.

On Saturday, Parubiy, 54, who served as speaker from April 2016 to August 2019, was shot dead in the western city of Lviv by a man, disguised as a delivery guy. He was one of the protest leaders in 2013-14, calling for closer ties with the European Union.

Internal Affairs Minister Ihor Klymenko wrote on Telegram on Sunday night that dozens of police officers and security officers had been involved in the operation to arrest the suspect in the Khmelnytsky region of western Ukraine.

According to Klymenko, the crime was “carefully prepared: the schedule of the deceased’s movements was studied, the route was laid, and an escape plan was thought out”.

Some tributes from Ukrainian officials to Parubiy hinted at suspicions of Russian involvement in the killing. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, both sides have accused each other of assassinations of key political and military leaders.

According to the Russian state media, Parubiy had been wanted by Russian authorities since 2023.

As a young man, he had campaigned for Ukraine’s independence from the Soviet Union. He was also a key supporter of promoting the use of Ukrainian over the Russian language – a highly politicised issue.

During the 2014 Maidan protests, following then-Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych’s decision to cancel a planned association agreement with the EU due to intense pressure from Moscow, Parubiy was the “commander” of the opposition’s self-defence forces.

[kellyhound]

Earlier this weekend, Ukrainian long range FPV attack drones successfully raided the Russian helicopter base at Simferopol International Airport, Crimea.

Seen here, Ukrainian drones hunt down and slam into a pair of Russian Mi-8/17 helicopters.

[kellyhound]

At least 3 Flamingo missiles launched at sunrise, striking an FSB (russian security service) facility/outpost and hovercrafts.

Video footage shows launches from an undisclosed site, with missiles arcing upward on rocket boosters.

Damage to outpost: 6 russian hovercrafts damaged/destroyed and 1 russian serviceman killed.

[kellyhound]

Ex-producer Elizarov's UAV division Lasar's Group burned every fifth Russian tank.

Colonel Pavel Elizarov's (Lazar) Lasar's Group unit hit, in total, more than 40 thousand targets of the Russian occupiers.

This was reported on Facebook by the editor-in-chief of Forbes Ukraine, Boris Davydenko.

In civilian life, Pavel Elizarov worked as a producer at Savik Shuster Studio, but after the full-scale invasion, he became the head of the UAV division of Lasar's Group.

"In 2015-2016, I worked a little with Elizarov the producer, and if they had told me that there would be a war-war, and Pasha would become a colonel, create a drone unit that would burn every fifth Russian tank and in total would hit more than 40,000!!! targets, I would have sent them to the fairy tale or fantasy department.

I first heard about the mysterious unit that burns Russian equipment on an industrial scale from Kyiv in early 2023. And from a man who is easier to imagine steering a yacht in Monaco than piloting a heavy bomber.

Elizarov's name came up when we were journalistically picking at the topic of the creation of the Unmanned Systems Forces and the probable leader.

A number of interlocutors said that he was an ideologist and would most likely head the new structure. I was sure that this was a complete namesake and could not put the picture together in my head.

At the beginning of 2024, our journalists found a very dynamic company in U-Control, a drone manufacturer (yes, this is open information for almost 4 years of war).

They started knocking for comments. And when "Elizarov-producer" appeared on my phone, the puzzle came together.

We met, Pasha told and showed how everything is arranged and works. In my presence, several tanks and BMWs were burned in 30 minutes, then the "Lazars" accounted for $6 billion in destroyed equipment.

The word "shocked" does not describe my state. Elizarov asked me not to write anything, since it could harm the work of the unit, and in general, there is no point in telling the enemy about effective war technologies," he said.

Davydenko noted that Lasar's Group has a full cycle of designing and producing drones and explosives.

The editor-in-chief of Forbes Ukraine also named Elizarov the head of the most productive and, probably, the most effective UAV unit in the country.

[kellyhound]

Ukraine launches drone strikes on russia’s Ryazan oil refinery and an oil depot in occupied Luhansk; russia says 8 drones downed, no casualties.

If the Ryazan Refinery's capacity drops to 0%, it would halt processing of about 340,000 barrels per day, worsening fuel shortages in central russia, raising gasoline prices, and straining Rosneft's output.

russia could reroute supplies from other refineries, but total national capacity might fall by 5-10%, per recent estimates.

Translation of a post from the russian Telegram channel "Nezygar" about the current state of russian refineries and fuel market:

"Tensions in russia's fuel market are rising: in Primorye, there are kilometer-long queues at gas stations, and wholesale prices for gasoline and diesel have hit record highs.

Officially, the reasons are no longer hidden - refineries are shutting down after Ukrainian strikes.

During peak summer days, up to 14% of processing capacity was idle.

In 2025, the tactics of Ukrainian strikes have changed. Previously, they were one-time: a unit would be damaged, the plant would reduce output, but recover within a few weeks.

Now, attacks are carried out in series and repeated on the same facilities - Ryazan, Novokuibyshevsk, Syzran, Volgograd, Afipsky refineries.

This prevents the restoration of primary processing and hydrocracking and catalytic cracking units.

For example, after a series of attacks, Ryazan Refinery (5% of Russia's capacity) has half its processing halted, while Novokuibyshevsk Refinery (3%) has its primary processing damaged.

The largest refinery in southern Russia, Volgograd's Lukoil, as well as the Samara and Syzran refineries, have stopped receiving crude.

Ukraine is widely using drones with a range of 1,000-1,500 km (such as the AQ-400 produced by FirePoint), capable of reaching the Volga region.

Simultaneously, drones and maritime drones are targeting export terminals - attacks on Ust-Luga and Novorossiysk have temporarily halted oil product shipments.

'Madyar' reported hitting the Druzhba pipeline, which supplies oil from Russia to its historical homeland.

The choice of refineries as targets is explained by their technological vulnerability. Modern russian refineries were built using equipment from Shell, Axens, UOP, and Haldor Topsoe - hydrocracking, catalytic reforming, isomerization, and Euro-5 component production.

After 2022, deliveries of equipment, software, and catalysts ceased. Catalysts are consumables, replaced every 1-3 years; without Western supplies, russia relies on old stock or Chinese analogs with inferior performance.

Hydroprocessing reactors and compressors are manufactured in only a few countries, with delivery times up to a year.

China can cover only part of the deficit: pumps, heat exchangers, and simple catalysts. However, for complex processes, its technology lags, and replacing Western components with Chinese ones requires restructuring the entire refinery unit. As a result, every Ukrainian strike on a hydrocracking or reforming unit leads to months of downtime.

The map of russian refineries reveals a key strategic problem: the main processing capacities are concentrated in the European part of the country, while fuel consumption is rising in the Far East.

Fuel logistics chains to eastern regions span thousands of kilometers, creating additional costs and risks.

Kilometer-long queues in Primorye are a direct consequence of this imbalance between western production and eastern consumption. Large refineries - from Kirishi to Volgograd - are within reach of Ukrainian drones.

The Flamingo missile, if its specifications are confirmed, can reach russia's largest refinery in Omsk.

As the range increases, facilities previously considered out of reach are now threatened, creating a scale problem for air defense - protecting all refineries across the territory, from Kaliningrad to the Far East, is practically impossible.

Consequently, russia's oil and gas industry, once a source of economic strength, has become a vulnerable spot."