Russia-Ukraine War: Latest Drone Attacks and Strategic Oil Strikes

Ukraine has intensified its aerial campaign against Russian oil and energy infrastructure, shifting its focus from production facilities to the capacity for exporting petroleum. This strategic escalation occurs as Russian forces continue strikes against Ukrainian civilian targets and energy infrastructure.

On April 5, 2026, Ukrainian drones targeted a Lukoil oil refinery in the city of Kstovo and an oil terminal in the Leningrad region. Robert “Madyar” Brovdi, the commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, confirmed the operations.

Strikes on Russian Oil Infrastructure

The Ukrainian military confirmed it struck the Ust-Luga oil terminal in the Leningrad region on April 7, 2026. The general staff reported via Telegram that damage was preliminarily confirmed to three storage tanks belonging to the Transneft-Baltika company.

In the Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Governor Gleb Nikitin stated on April 5 that air defense forces repelled an attack involving 30 drones. Despite these defenses, debris caused damage to two facilities at the Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez refinery.

Alexander Drozdenko, the governor of Leningrad Oblast, reported on his Telegram channel that drone debris damaged an oil pipeline located near the Primorsk port.

These attacks persist despite requests from foreign allies for Kyiv to pause drone strikes on refineries. Those allies cited concerns that the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran is driving up global fuel prices.

Russian Attacks on Civilians and Infrastructure

Concurrent with the strikes in Russia, Russian forces have targeted Ukrainian civilian areas. In the Dnipropetrovsk region, Russian drone strikes on a street market killed five people and wounded 19.

Other reported incidents include a Russian drone strike on a bus in Nikopol, resulting in three deaths and 12 injuries, and bombings in Kherson that left three people dead and seven wounded.

The United Nations has warned that the stress caused by continuous Russian bombardment is leading to premature births in Ukraine.

Diplomatic and Military Context

Volodymyr Zelensky has extended an offer to Russia for a temporary ceasefire on strikes against energy infrastructure to coincide with the upcoming Orthodox Easter. This follows a previous proposal for a halt in fighting over the most recent Easter weekend, which Russia rejected.

Former CIA director David Petraeus stated in an interview with CBS News that Russia no longer holds the upper hand on the front lines. Petraeus noted that while Russia possesses a larger economy and outnumbers and outguns Ukraine, Ukrainian forces are currently stopping Russian advances.

Russia has reported its own losses and damages, including an attack by Ukrainian drones on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium’s Black Sea terminal, which handles 1.5 percent of the global oil supply.

Further Russian casualties include the death of a top military commander in a plane crash within annexed Crimea.