KYIV, September 10 — Ukraine carried out one of its widest-ranging deep-strike operations of the full-scale war on a single night in mid-2025, hitting eight Russian military and industrial targets spread from the Arctic Ocean to the Caspian Sea, according to Ukrainian and Russian officials. The record shows the operation reached the Arctic port of Murmansk in the north and the Caspian Sea port of Kaspiysk in Dagestan in the south, with additional targets in the Volgograd, Rostov and Saratov regions.
Ukrainian officials said the strikes were aimed at oil refineries, drone production facilities and air bases used to launch attacks on Ukrainian cities.
What was hit
The target list included the Volgograd oil refinery, described as one of Russia’s largest, processing nearly 300,000 barrels per day. The Saratov oil refinery was also struck, along with the Engels air base in Saratov Oblast, home to Russian strategic bombers. In the Arctic, the Olenya air base near Murmansk, used by Tu-95 and Tu-160 bombers, was reportedly targeted.
The Caspian strike hit the Kaspiysk port, where Russia’s Caspian Flotilla is based. Russia’s Defense Ministry acknowledged intercepting dozens of drones but did not provide a full damage assessment.
The full extent of the damage from the operation remains unclear, and independent verification is difficult because of wartime restrictions.
The strategic logic
Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, have emphasized that these strikes are aimed at degrading Russia’s war economy and military logistics. The campaign reflects Ukraine’s growing capacity to strike deep inside Russian territory using domestically produced long-range drones and missiles, a capability that has expanded significantly since 2023. The operation follows a pattern of Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy infrastructure that began in earnest in 2023 and intensified in 2024 and 2025, with the aim of reducing Russia’s oil export revenues, which fund its military.
Russia has responded by increasing air defense deployments around key facilities and launching retaliatory strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure. The United States and other Western allies have generally supported Ukraine’s right to strike military targets inside Russia but have at times expressed concern about escalation.
The strikes come amid ongoing diplomatic efforts to end the war, including proposals for ceasefires and peace talks, though no agreement has been reached. What to watch next is whether Ukraine sustains this tempo of long-range strikes, how far Russia’s air defense adjustments blunt them, and whether the diplomatic track produces anything before the next round of deep strikes.
